Since 2022, all activities of the three MPDV user associations have been united under the banner of the Smart Factory Society. The Smart Factory Society has its origins in the HYDRA Users Group (HUG), which was founded back in 2004 with the aim of promoting the exchange of requirements, ideas, and suggestions for optimization for the MES HYDRA. Over the years, the market and the MPDV portfolio have evolved leading to the foundation of two further user associations in 2022, which added to the existing HUG. Today's three user associations are the HYDRA Users Group for the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) HYDRA, the user association for the Advanced Planning and Scheduling System (APS) FEDRA and the user group for the Manufacturing Integration Platform (MIP). The Smart Factory Society serves to liaise between users and MPDV as manufacturer of software solutions.
The presidium of the Smart Factory Society is composed of representatives of the user associations and MPDV. The members and the society's president discuss all important topics relating to the Smart Factory. A major objective of the Smart Factory Society is to address the users' requirements and to integrate these in the further development of the standard software HYDRA, FEDRA, and the integration platform MIP. Furthermore, the Smart Factory Society offers a platform for MPDV users where they can exchange ideas and network. For this to work, the Smart Factory Society provides the organizational framework to further strengthen the close contact between users and the MPDV Group.