On February 1, Mike Hughes took over the position of Zone President DACH at Schneider Electric. He succeeds Stefan Gierse, who has left the company.

Digikey expanded significantly last year, both in terms of providers and new products (NPI). 455 new providers and more than 1.1 million products in the core business have been added to the distributor's portfolio.

From February 2, 2025, further provisions of the AI Act will apply in the European Union. The digital association Bitkom expresses concerns about the practical implementation.

Germany's electrical and digital manufacturers are facing another difficult year. The industry association is calling for a package of reforms. The new federal government must deliver from day one.

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Ileana Honigblum has been Vice President and Market Leader GSA & Eastern Europe at Aveva, a global provider of industrial software, since the beginning of the year.

Secunet has developed a comprehensive solution for securing plants and machinery: a secure platform for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) called ‘secunet edge’.

Sick has developed the ‘Ident Gate System’, an intelligent track-and-trace system solution that helps companies comply with the basic requirements of the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains, applicable to many locally and globally operating companies.

The ‘RM5’ sensor generation of the Temposonics R-Series V focuses on Industry 4.0 functions such as machine monitoring, predictive maintenance and process optimization.

The sensor and measurement technology sector recorded no change in turnover in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter. However, turnover fell by 10% compared to the third quarter of 2023. Incoming orders were 2% below the level of the previous quarter.

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The EMVA Young Professional Award is an annual prize worth 1500 euros that recognizes the outstanding and innovative work of a student or young professional in the field of machine vision or image processing.

The EDAG Group has announced a comprehensive diversification of its portfolio in order to align itself more closely with the requirements of various industries and technological change.

German industry has recognized AI as a key success factor. As machines become increasingly autonomous, manufacturers must see AI as an independent product to be integrated. From now on, AI must be considered on an equal footing with mechanical, hydraulic and electronic components, according to Aras.

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The robotics and automation industry in Germany has lost competitiveness: for 2025, it is forecasting a drop of minus 9 percent to 13.8 billion euros in total turnover. Last year, the sector closed with a turnover of minus 6 percent at 15.2 billion euros.

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Sick announced the acquisition of the Dutch technology company Accerion. Accerion specializes in AI-based image processing with a focus on positioning technologies for mobile robots.

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Tap-proof communication is of central importance for a networked society. Quantum physics provides the basis for this: it enables practical technologies such as quantum key distribution.

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Companies in Germany are increasing their investments in artificial intelligence in 2025. According to a study by IBM, organizations are focusing on AI in the long term despite the limited return on investment to date and are prioritizing innovation and productivity increases over traditional financial savings.

Device Insight and MakinaRocks are combining their expertise in the fields of Industrial IoT, data analytics and industrial AI to support companies in the digitalization and optimization of their production processes.

Swedish companies are to bring green technologies to Germany. The German-Swedish Chamber of Commerce has selected companies in the cleantech sector and assessed them as particularly suitable for the needs of the German market. Eight companies are now ready to meet German business partners and transform the energy market.

Digikey renews its annual platinum sponsorship of WE United (Women in Electronics), a community of leaders committed to expanding opportunities for women in the electronics industry.

Sophos X-Ops has investigated an active threat campaign in which two different threat actor groups are infiltrating organizations. The cybercriminals are abusing the functionality of the Office 365 platform.