President’s remarks: Advanced companies in the field of automation in Germany are at the core of major innovations

 

Germany is the world's fourth largest economy after the United States, China and Japan, and is also a major industrial exporter. Germany attaches great importance to scientific and technological innovation, and its overseas direct investment has increased by more than RMB 1 trillion since 1990, a five-fold increase. Germany increased its investment in research and development to €106 billion in 2020, allowing small and medium-sized enterprises, the heart of the German economy, to perform remarkably well even during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Hidden champion

Germany is Europe’s most automated economy, accounting for 33% of Europe’s operational inventory. Germany ranks fifth in the world in terms of the number of industrial robots used, second only to China, Japan, South Korea and the United States. Germany is also a major supplier of machinery and equipment to China and the United States. The global epidemic of the new coronavirus has accelerated the development of the automation industry. As of April 2022, order volume has increased by 38% year-on-year, with orders for integrated assembly solutions rising even more.

Founded in 1980, Beckhoff is one of the largest privately held automation companies and a global standard setter in PC control technology. Founded in a garage by company president Mr. Hans Beckhoff, Beckhoff is currently one of Germany's hidden champions (publicly less well-known global market leaders). The company provides automation products and solutions for more than 20 industries, with subsidiaries and representative offices in more than 40 countries and regions around the world; the company has more than 5,000 employees worldwide, including 2,000 engineers; the company has global automation The market share is approximately 3%.

 

PC-based control technology

Beckhoff is well-known for its PC-based control technology, having built the first industrial PC for control applications as early as 1986. The fusion of information technology and automation technology has proven to be incredibly successful in applications in various types of machinery, such as packaging machinery and semiconductor equipment. PC-based control technology is also suitable for controlling modern battery, electric motor and smartphone production lines. Other application areas such as wind turbines, stage automation and scientific research can also be intelligently controlled through Beckhoff systems.

Beckhoff offers high-performance automation platforms for these different application areas, including all standard sequence and motion control, as well as machine vision, artificial intelligence, scientific engineering and Industry 4.0 functions. With Beckhoff, engineers can use advanced tools to implement updated functionality and improve work efficiency at any time in their projects.

Beckhoff has always emphasized that it is a technology company, constantly improving automation technology and achieving revolutionary leaps again and again. For example, Beckhoff Bus Terminals, the EtherCAT communication protocol and many other Beckhoff inventions have become global standards.

 

 

 

1 billion euro company

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, Beckhoff factories have always maintained 24-hour uninterrupted production to ensure that the company's production capacity and supply have been maintained at a high level. “This has been a special, difficult but extremely successful time for us. Our production personnel and engineers shoulder the heavy burden to ensure smooth and orderly production and make every effort to ensure the smooth delivery of customer orders. ”Hans said. Beckhoff's sales in 2021 increased by nearly 30% year-on-year, entering the ranks of 1 billion euro companies, and as of now, the full-year production orders for 2022 have been fully booked.

Hans attributes much of the company's historic achievements to its "harmonious development" strategy. When Beckhoff expands by acquiring small companies, it focuses more on the technology they can offer rather than their market share. “The company is growing in a sustainable way. Over the past 22 years, our average annual growth rate has been around 15%. Our business model is highly scalable and we now want to further scale the company. ”Hans said. By the end of 2022, Beckhoff will strive to achieve a growth target of 20-23%, with global revenue likely to reach 1.45 billion euros.

 

 

Sales growth trend chart from 1980 to 2021

Until March 2022

 

Looking to the future

Looking to the future, Beckhoff has focused on building a direct-to-customer sales channel and continuously increasing production capacity to promote market-leading innovative products: the ultimate goal is to become a 3 billion euro enterprise in 2030. Recent examples include Beckhoff’s XTS and XPlanar conveyor systems, which offer advanced linear and planar motion capabilities that enable completely new equipment concepts. Another example is the MX-System, which will completely replace traditional control cabinets!

Currently, Beckhoff is strengthening the construction of its international marketing network to further enhance its global influence. Beckhoff's overseas operations account for two-thirds of the company's total turnover. Beckhoff always regards customer satisfaction as the core of its business philosophy and provides customers with product customization options. Beckhoff is committed to providing advanced, intelligent automation technology and is managed without sacrificing the traditional family values on which the company is based. “We have always focused on building long-term trusting relationships with our customers, which is why so many customers around the world choose to work with us. As a high-tech traditional enterprise, we are unique in the entire automation industry. ”Hans said.

 

Engineers must shoulder the heavy responsibility of saving the world!

In Hans' view, Beckhoff's future success will not only benefit the company's own development, but also help protect the human living environment. As climate change intensifies the contradiction between limited resources and growing demand, technological progress will play an important role in solving this problem. The company therefore sees it as its responsibility to help educate the next generation of engineers and enable German industry to set standards for future solutions. “As a basic technology, automation plays an important role in all aspects of social life, and our powerful control system can fully meet all these application needs. ” Hans added, “Engineers must shoulder the important task of saving the world! Reduce consumption of raw materials and energy. High-precision, intelligent automation technology is the key to achieving all this.”

 

About Beckhoff Germany

Beckhoff is a German-owned enterprise focusing on new automation technologies. It was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Weil, Germany. As a driver of global automation technology, Beckhoff has defined many standards in the field of automation and is the setter and promoter of international standards. The company's industrial PCs, fieldbus modules, drive products and TwinCAT automation software form a complete, mutually compatible control system that can provide open automation systems and complete solutions for various industrial control fields. After 40 years of development and hard work, Beckhoff has established more than 30 branches around the world, and with global partners, its business covers more than 70 countries and regions.

Beckhoff entered the Chinese market in 1997. Its China headquarters is located in Shanghai Shibei High-tech Industrial Park. It currently has 300 employees and offices in 30 large and medium-sized cities in China. Innovative products and solutions are widely used in wind power, semiconductors, photovoltaic solar energy, electronic manufacturing, metal processing, packaging machinery, printing machinery, plastic processing, tire processing, wood processing, glass machinery, logistics transportation and building automation and many other fields.

The EtherCAT real-time industrial Ethernet promoted by the company became China's national recommended standard in 2014 and has been included in the "National Intelligent Manufacturing Standard System Construction Guide" of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. As a technology-driven company, Beckhoff has always focused on seeking technological breakthroughs and innovations, and enjoys the reputation of an "innovation engine" in the industry. Beckhoff's PC-based control technology has good openness, supports all mainstream industrial communication protocols, perfectly integrates IT technology, Internet and automation technology, laying a solid technical foundation for the realization of Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing.

 

Source: China Ziwang. If there is any mistake or infringement, it will be deleted.

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