"Looking back, our investments in building up expertise in automation and digitalization, in buying back our sales companies in North America and in other important growth regions have paid off," explains Weidmüller CEO Jörg Timmermann. With the expansion of the "u-mation" automation system, the acquisition of a majority stake in the visualizer GTI in the summer and the cooperation with the Austrian specialist Keba, Weidmüller has continued on its chosen path. "We want to continuously expand our market position in the areas of automation and IoT and are developing our portfolio accordingly," explains Volker Bibelhausen, Weidmüller's new Chief Technology Officer since September 1, 2018. Weidmüller will present its final annual financial statements at the Hannover Messe in April.

IoT-enabled components, software and services
Weidmüller offers a range of communication-enabled components for the provision and processing of process data. "We have noticed that many customers no longer associate Weidmüller solely with passive components, but also with digitalization topics such as industrial analytics. Customers also appreciate our solution expertise in control cabinet construction," explains Weidmüller Chief Sales Officer José Carlos Álvarez Tobar. This is also reflected in sales - with growth of more than 25 percent, the Automation Products and Solutions division, which primarily deals with solutions for automation and digitalization, is making an ever greater contribution.

Smart connection technology and industrial infrastructure
At the same time, the trend towards digitalization in industry is also reaching purely electromechanical components such as connectors. In future, these will collect and communicate data at interfaces in systems, which will lead to new services and increase availability. "Connectors will become smart, take on additional functions and can increase availability and safety in DC voltage distributions in the future, for example," explains Bibelhausen. The company responded to these trends by establishing the Smart Connectivity Competence Center in Lemgo in October, where developers are working on topics relating to the transformation of industrial infrastructure and the digital description of products. Services are also playing an increasingly important role at Weidmüller. "With our services, we aim to enable customers to optimize their processes and workflows. In the area of connectivity consulting, for example, we have built up an experienced team that advises customers on control cabinet construction and questions such as how field cabling can be optimally implemented," says Bibelhausen.

New customer and technology center
In future, customers will be able to experience the solutions and services on the top floor of Weidmüller's new Customer and Technology Center. In the almost 12,000 square meter building, great importance was attached to sustainability, energy efficiency and modern workplace design. The new customer and technology center has innovative office and conference rooms in which employees can work in an interdisciplinary manner. "The digital transformation will change collaboration between employees and with customers. The CTC opens up completely new opportunities for collaboration - within the company and with customers," explains Timmermann. When designing the building, individual offices were deliberately avoided in order to create an open working atmosphere. The new team offices are intended to strengthen collaboration and the exchange of ideas. The open-space concept and break-out zones also contribute to this.

Despite numerous uncertainty factors, the Executive Board of the Weidmüller Group is confident overall for 2019, but expects a significant decline in growth momentum. pb