Phoenix Contact
For a smart world
During a press conference at SPS 2019, Ulrich Leidecker, President Business Area IMA at Phoenix Contact, spoke about company figures, acquisitions and new products at the trade fair stand.
In addition to application examples "from real project life", which do not necessarily correspond to classic factory automation and provide information about the diverse possibilities of digitalization, I/O modules called 'Axioline Smart Elements' will also celebrate their premiere at the Phoenix Contact trade fair stand. They extend the 'Axioline' I/O system with pluggable, system-independent I/O elements in such a compact design - 16 channels on 15 mm width - that they save up to 25 % space in the control cabinet compared to standard I/O stations on the market. The I/O modules are designed in such a way that users can plug the required I/O functions onto a carrier module using an adapter and thus assemble the appropriate I/O module themselves.
As far as the company figures are concerned, regional sales development was relatively consistent in 2019, as in 2018 - albeit with more moderate growth: while the Group grew by 8% in 2018 (to sales of €2.38 billion), growth in 2019 is expected to be between 3% and 4% (to €2.48 billion). This result is still in line with the general economic development, but remains below original expectations, explained Leidecker. For 2020, Leidecker is forecasting slight growth in the low single-digit range between 2% and 3%.
Two start-ups joined the Phoenix Group in 2019: the Berlin-based company Urban Energy, which is developing an IoT platform to connect energy generation and consumption, and the Dutch start-up Accerion, which develops and sells infrastructure-free positioning systems for mobile robots and autonomous vehicles. The Berlin-based company Phoenix Contact Smart Business, formerly SmartB Energy Management, has now joined the group as of January 1, 2020. The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider offers intelligent services on the IoT platform 'Proficloud' based on IoT-capable products from Phoenix Contact and other partners.
You might also be interested in
Scan floor plans with tablet
WSCAD is presenting numerous product innovations relating to the E-CAD solution. These include the first functions of the next version, Suite X Plus, with a completely newly developed editor and improvements in terms of overall performance, app...
read more...On the way to the world library
The vision has been in place since the end of 2014: OPC UA is to achieve the status of a globally recognized standard for the Industrial Internet of Things IIoT by 2019 at the latest. During the press conference at SPS, the Foundation took a stand...
read more...More investment in software expertise
The economy is leaving its mark: compared to the previous year, Turck expects total sales of around 640 million euros for the 2019 financial year, a decline of 3%. Nevertheless, Managing Director Christian Wolf is optimistic.
read more...A look back at the fair
The 30th SPS was the highlight of the automation industry at the end of November. The keywords 'digitization' and 'digital transformation' were visible right through the halls. The main trends can be seen in the film below.
read more...SPS 2019 in retrospect
The 30th SPS, the trade fair highlight of the automation industry, took place at the end of November. The buzzwords 'digitalization' and 'digital transformation' were visible throughout the halls - the most important things in the film.
read more...Dynamically driving high speed motors
Under the name SD4x, Sieb & Meyer is developing a new generation of frequency inverters for high-speed applications. The first of these is the SD4S version, which is designed for small high-speed spindles and motors with a power output of just a...
read more...Individual standard products
Prime Cube' is a product brand for IPCs and HMI solutions introduced ten years ago. Matthias Klein, Managing Director of Schubert System Elektronik, reports on how the brand is kept fresh.
read more...Industry 4.0 'off the shelf'
iniNet Solutions has developed an automation architecture based on web server-supported SCADA and programming software, which is intended to bring manufacturing companies more easily than ever to industry 4.0 level. This architecture can be seen at...
read more...Plug and play into any cloud
A year ago, Cloudrail unveiled the 'CloudRail.Box' for the first time - a gateway that connects plug-and-play to IO-Link sensors and masters and sends the data to any cloud platform. Now it also handles OPC UA and Edge Computing.
read more...