The VDMA reports a 4% increase in orders for the German mechanical and plant engineering sector in October 2025. Orders from non-euro countries in particular rose significantly, while domestic and euro orders remained stable. The details on the current order situation.

BDI Report 2025: German industry shrinks for the fourth year in a row. Decline in production, global risks and need for reform - BDI President Leibinger calls for investment, a reduction in bureaucracy and a turnaround in economic policy.

Images

Framo Morat presents the "speeroX gearing", a concept for high-ratio angular gears. The article explains the structure, functional principle, fields of application and material options of the technology.

On January 1, 2026, Heike Wulff will take over the Finance department on the Board of Management of Jungheinrich AG. She succeeds Dr. Volker Hues, who will step down from his position on December 31, 2025.

Researchers are developing a smart, compostable label that measures temperature and humidity and detects when limit values are exceeded.

Friction stir welding (FSW) is becoming increasingly important in e-mobility. In this interview, FSW experts Till Maier and Stefan Fröhlke from Kuka explain the background to the process and show how robots, process knowledge and training enable safe, energy-efficient and precise battery production.

Images

The shortage of skilled workers is increasing the pressure to automate. Conrad Electronic is responding with strategic partnerships, e-procurement integration and a wide range of products for Industry 4.0 applications. Michael Schlagenhaufer provides details.

With around 56,000 visitors and a clear increase on the previous year, SPS 2025 presented itself as a well-used platform for smart automation.

At SPS 2025, ifm will be demonstrating how the digitalization of the entire value chain can be implemented in practice. In an interview, Michael Marhofer, CEO of the ifm group of companies, explains which technologies are in focus, which industry trends are relevant and what challenges the automation industry will face in the coming years.

Steffen Winkler, Head of Sales at Bosch Rexroth, explains in an interview how the automation system "ctrlX Automation", AI functions and virtualization are changing the industry and which trends and challenges are shaping the sector.

The increasing importance of AI, autonomous automation and cybersecurity requirements are currently shaping many areas of industrial sensor technology. In this interview, Dr. Henning Grönzin, CTO of Leuze, explains the company's technological priorities, which trends will be most relevant for sensor and safety solutions in the coming years and how new regulatory requirements are challenging the entire industry.

In this interview, Richard Tontsch, Head of Marketing at Yaskawa Europe, explains why integrated automation platforms such as iCube Control are becoming increasingly important for the industry and which trends, challenges and framework conditions are shaping the automation sector.

Markus Ketterer, Head of Department Sales Marketing Communication at Endress+Hauser Germany, explains how digitalization, increased efficiency and decarbonization interact in the industry and which trends and challenges are currently shaping the sector.

Unpredictable fluctuations in demand pose new challenges for fulfillment logistics. Viral trends, political decisions and changing customer behavior are making traditional planning models obsolete.

An assistance system developed at Fraunhofer IPK is used to identify, sort and assess the quality of disused household appliances, thus contributing to recycling and waste avoidance with the help of artificial intelligence.

Images

How is the market for drive technology developing and what trends are companies observing? As part of our series of short interviews on SPS, we asked Heiko Füller, Head of Market and Analysis at SEW-Eurodrive Germany, to give us an insight into current developments and challenges in the industry.

Faulhaber is expanding the GPT family with two high-performance models that impress with their whisper-quiet operation: the "22GPT LN" and the "32GPT LN".

The demands placed on modern drive and automation technology are increasing rapidly. In a brief interview with Industrial Production, Markus Sandhöfner, Senior Vice President Sales EMEA Central and Managing Director at Lenze, explains how Lenze is shaping this change and which technologies will take center stage at SPS 2025.

Cathrin Kröll, Vice President Global Marketing at Pilz, on the company's focus at SPS 2025.

Franco Polo, Vice President System Sales Germany at Wago, explains in an interview with Industrial Production which technologies the company is currently driving forward - also with regard to the upcoming PLC -, which trends are shaping the industry and which challenges will be particularly relevant in the coming years.