In the age of Industry 4.0, software and IT are becoming increasingly important components of automation technology. What challenges or opportunities does this entail?

Data is the lifeblood of Industry 4.0, so the importance of IT and software in automation technology is constantly growing. Of course, this is a challenge in some areas for companies whose core business has long been hardware. This is not so much in relation to device software, which we have already implemented in the past, but rather in the direction of intelligent data processing and provision in customers' software systems or in cloud solutions. These are new areas in which we need to build up expertise. In order to be able to offer our customers practical solutions quickly, we have decided to purchase market-leading expertise at this point. Turck acquired the cloud software from IoT specialist Beck IPC as part of a technology buy-out. Based on this software, we will be able to offer our customers a mature, future-proof industrial cloud solution in the near future, which we will continue to develop further together. We have also brought on board a specialist in the RFID sector, Turck Vilant Systems, which is very experienced in integrating RFID data into its customers' systems.

With Vilant Systems, you have taken over your Finnish RFID turnkey solution partner. What potential do you see in RFID technology?

RFID is an essential basic technology for Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things. Smart factories can only be created if certain products, workpiece carriers or tools can be clearly identified and localized. This data can be used not only to optimize production processes, but also their traceability or quality assurance. In many fields of application, optical recognition has its limits, meaning that only radio-based RFID solutions work.

In addition to our product-oriented RFID solution offering, which we have been continuously expanding for over ten years, we are going one step further with our new subsidiary Turck Vilant Systems. With the acquisition of a majority stake in Vilant, we can now also offer complete turnkey RFID solutions. Our customers not only need excellent hardware products, but more and more complete system solutions including software, integration and maintenance, especially in the RFID business. With Vilant's experienced specialists, who have already successfully implemented more than 1000 projects, we can now better meet these requirements and support our customers on their way to Industry 4.0.