Logimat, an important trade fair for intralogistics solutions and process management, takes place in March. What significance does the trade fair have for Indeva and where are you focusing this year?

Logimat is our in-house exhibition and therefore the most important trade fair for us. This is where we regularly present our new products and services to a wide range of interested parties for the first time. This year we will be presenting our new, flexible manipulator with vacuum gripper Liftronic Vac-U-Grip. The special feature of this system is the standardization of individual special solutions. Thanks to the "modular system" of different gripper components and arrangements, we can find the right solution for almost any task in lifting technology for panels and sheets. As with all our products and solutions, ergonomics for the employee is our top priority.

We will also be presenting our fully mobile and battery-powered Liftronic Mobile manipulator for use throughout the logistics sector. As an "order picker", it is mounted on standard low-floor pallet trucks and moved freely around the warehouse and department store. Thanks to its mains-independent use, there are virtually no limits to its flexibility and mobility. And, of course, we will be showing the fastest manipulator in the world, our Liftronic Easy-6 for a wide range of handling tasks.

In which areas of your product portfolio do you see the greatest potential for innovation due to new technologies?

The fact that our manipulators are processor-controlled means that partial automation and the integration of safety queries are already an integral part of our handling solutions. The requirements from this context will continue to increase and gain in importance. The increased awareness of and emphasis on sustainability is also a high priority for our products. This ranges from in-house production with regional procurement and recycled packaging to the energy-saving use of manipulators by customers.

How do you see the handling equipment industry developing in the coming years?

The "niche" of handling technology and handling devices will become even more important in the coming years. The reasons for this are obvious. On the one hand, there is the demographic change, which is causing investments in supporting products to grow disproportionately. Fewer workers are joining the workforce than are leaving it. This means that fewer employees will have to take on the tasks of tomorrow. With the provision of smooth-running and intuitive manipulators, one employee can now perform the tasks that two or three colleagues did yesterday. In addition, ergonomic devices, such as Indeva manipulators, maintain the working capacity of employees even at an advanced age.