We spoke to Ulrich Moser, Head of Marketing and Sales Controlling at IEF-Werner, in an interview.

What are your technological priorities as a company over the next twelve months?

Intelligent automation is one of the key pioneering technologies for every industrial sector - especially in the current difficult phase for the economy. We offer sophisticated solutions that enable companies to design handling processes efficiently and safely - from servo presses to palletizing systems. When developing new products, but also when enhancing existing solutions, we focus in particular on the needs of users. It is becoming increasingly important to be able to tailor products to their tasks. To do this, we need a mutual exchange in order to understand the individual requirements and challenges.

What advantages do you see in the virtual exchange with customers and users?

Trade fairs are a key tool for us, allowing us to make direct contact with our customers. Direct discussions with users are extremely helpful, especially for products that require explanation. This year, Covid-19 has almost completely paralyzed trade fair activities. The virtual exchange is a good alternative to still exchange ideas with our customers or potential customers. You can be there from the comfort of your computer when we exclusively present new and further developments of our products as well as current information about the company. I can well imagine combining virtual and real trade fairs in the future.

What can visitors to the virtual industrial trade fair expect at your stand?

Visitors can look forward to a whole range of clever automation solutions. For example, we can equip our positioning systems with metal belt covers on request. This flexible solution means that the system is encapsulated, which largely prevents the ingress of dirt and the release of particles. It can therefore work reliably in both dirty and very clean environments, for example in clean rooms or in the pharmaceutical industry. The metal belt cover offers a long service life and can also reliably withstand high travel speeds. It is maintenance-free and predestined for tough applications.

We also focus on the working atmosphere. This is because in automation technology, for example, moving energy cables need to be guided in a controlled manner. With commercially available cable drag chains, the polygon effect of the chain links causes disturbing noises, especially at higher speeds. We offer our noiseLess system, which can be integrated into the positioning system. Damping elements reduce noise development by up to 20 decibels. The system also absorbs abrasive wear. Because the cable drag chain can be attached with sliding blocks, the user can position it at any desired location. Our noiseLess system is also extremely robust.

Of course, we are also constantly striving to further develop our aiPress servo press series. We offer these in the "JM" version, among others. The abbreviation stands for Joining Module. The user can easily adapt the throat depth to the application, mount it upright or suspended overhead and also attach it to rotary tables, sliding tables or indexed systems, for example. Like the basic series, the new component is also available in three sizes. With this IEF solution, users can implement simple to highly complex joining processes quickly and effectively.

With all our solutions, we want to make things as easy as possible for our customers. Our range includes open and modular palletizing systems that can be tailored to any task. To enable users to put together the right solution quickly and easily, we have recently introduced an inquiry configurator. The program then automatically triggers a non-binding inquiry. This is immediately forwarded to the internal product specialists and sales staff and processed. Within a short time, the customer receives a concrete offer. This can serve as the basis for a further consultation.