"We want to help our customers make Industry 4.0 a reality in their company. The intelligent cable drum helps with the digitalization of inventory management. It allows stock levels to be precisely aligned with actual demand," explains Ralf Moebus, Product Manager for Industrial Data Communication at Lapp.

Equipped with a sensor and electronics with radio transmission, the intelligent cable drum 'Smart Cable Drum' is able to determine the current cable inventory and transmit it to a data portal in a cloud via the company network or global 2G-4G mobile technology. Elena Eberhardt, Business Development Manager at Schildknecht, explains: "Robust and cost-effective sensors with Bluetooth 5 or mobile technology can replace normal cable drums with intelligent ones. Above all, the eSIM card with worldwide availability makes international use easy to implement."

The 'Smart Cable Drum' helps to automate inventory management in the warehouse. Information on cable stocks and the current location of the cable drum can be called up at any time via a cloud. An optional built-in GPS module, which provides information on the current location of the Smart Cable Drum, also offers integrated theft protection.

Double-digit sales growth

Lapp also recently announced the company's figures for the past 2017/2018 financial year (October 1 to September 30): According to these figures, turnover increased by 12.3% to 1,153 million euros. Earnings before taxes improved by 5.6% to 58.6 million euros. The family-owned company, headquartered in Stuttgart, achieved its greatest growth in Europe - characterized by strong demand, particularly in the areas of Industrial Data Communication and Ölflex Connect (finished cable systems), as well as company acquisitions in Finland, Poland and Switzerland.

Growth was particularly strong in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Sales here increased by 15% to EUR 826 million. With a sales share of almost 72%, EMEA is Lapp's most important sales market. In Germany, sales increased by 9% to 341 million. The APAC region (Asia Pacific including Australia and New Zealand) improved its sales by 9% to just under EUR 212 million. The Central and North America region achieved EUR 106 million - an increase of 2.2%. In South America, sales fell by 18% to EUR 8.2 million due to economic crises.