A final point must be made related to the structural idiosyncracies of the ME and their characterization. The industry is less capital intensive than most other manufacturing industries. Although factory automation has always been an important topic, the opportunities are limited even for flexible automation. Single-unit and small-batch production as well as the high share of engineering and customization narrow the economic advantage of engaging in full-blown automation. For ME, compensation of labour is around 3 to times higher than compensation of capital. .
