The Harting Group can be satisfied with the past financial year: Thanks to growth of 13%, the last financial year (reporting date September 30, 2018) ended with total sales of EUR 762 million. The company, which is 100% family-owned, now has 14 production sites worldwide and employs around 5,000 people. Turnover in Germany currently still accounts for 30% of total turnover. Europe - excluding Germany - accounts for 34.5 %, Asia for 24.5 % and America for 10.4 %.

In order to remain successful on the market in the future, the company is committed to setting standards. For example, Harting recently helped drive forward the development of the 'Single Pair Ethernet' standard - SPE for short. At Hannover Messe 2019, the company will be presenting the appropriate standardized interfaces and the first series products - specifically: the first IP20 interface consisting of a plug connector and angled PCB socket. The core element of the new product series is a standardized SPE mating face that can be used for all housing variants from IP20 to IP65/67. With this connector concept, both 1 Gbit/s for shorter distances and 10 Mbit/s for long distances can be realized with a uniform mating face.

M12 PushPull

The M12 PushPull interlock for factory automation.

© Harting

Harting presented an M12 PushPull solution for factory automation for the first time at SPS IPC Drives 2018. As part of the standardization work, the appropriate generally applicable standards for M12 PushPull interlocks are now to be found. While previous solutions latch onto the outside of upright device sockets with the characteristic click, Harting is presenting an M12 PushPull interface for recessed sockets in Hanover. Sockets of this connector type are widely used in automation. They have an internal latching mechanism and can therefore be installed very flat without an external collar.

The advantage of this solution is that the classic screw locking of the M12 circular connector is considered to be a time-waster when it comes to assembly. In a direct comparison of M12 PushPull with the familiar screw locking system, the new locking technology can be connected around 75% faster.

The e-mobility eye-catcher

Automatically charged at the trade fair stand: the autonomous vehicle from Rinspeed.

© Rinspeed

As an eye-catcher, Harting is presenting 'microSNAP' in Hanover - the latest vehicle study by Swiss automotive visionary Frank Rinderknecht. The idea behind 'microSNAP' is that the chassis, drive and superstructure can be separated and quickly swapped. In order to quickly recharge the battery, the corresponding robot-controlled charging station can be seen on the exhibition stand. A Kuka robot inserts the charging plugs and ends the charging process when the battery of the drive unit has reached the required charge level. This means that the vehicle is ready for use again after a very short time.