By joining forces, the companies aim to provide their customers with even better support in important areas such as energy and resource efficiency as well as climate and environmental protection.

The aim of the partnership is to expand Endress+Hauser's product range to include Sick's process analysis and gas flow measurement technology. The two companies intend to establish a joint venture for the production and further development of Sick process technology. The sales and service teams of Sick's Process Automation business unit are to become part of the global Endress+Hauser sales network. Sick currently employs a total of over 1,400 people in 28 countries in the Process Automation business unit, generating annual sales of more than 350 million euros.

Offerings for process automation complement each other

The two companies' offerings in process technology are complementary. Sick's process analysis and gas flow measurement technology is used in particular in waste incineration plants, power, steel and cement plants, in the oil and gas industry, in chemical and petrochemical plants and in shipbuilding - for example to measure emissions during flue gas cleaning or for gas flow measurement. The companies have already worked together time and again on specific orders, projects and customers.

Both shareholder families and the respective supervisory bodies of Sick and Endress+Hauser are behind the strategic partnership project. Based on the Memorandum of Understanding, experts from both sides are now conducting due diligence to examine how the collaboration can be realized and made a success. The contract is expected to be signed in the first quarter of 2024, with completion planned for the middle of next year.

Partners see joint opportunities

"Our strategic partnership is about mutual benefit on many levels. We want to seize joint opportunities by joining forces. In doing so, we are acting from a position of strength: Sick and Endress+Hauser are currently very successful on their own. We are convinced that we will be even more successful together. Together we can support our customers even better and accompany them in the sustainable transformation of the process industry," explained Matthias Altendorf, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group.

Dr. Mats Gökstorp, CEO of Sick, said: "Endress+Hauser and Sick are breaking new ground with this strategic partnership. The trigger and momentum for this project is the dynamics of our market environment in process automation due to the ongoing decarbonization of the industry. Together, we can make better use of the great opportunities and develop the best solutions for and with customers. Our long-standing partnership and the overlaps in the corporate cultures of the family businesses play an important role alongside the focus on technology and people. Successful joint customer projects with Endress+Hauser already confirm the good cooperation."

Sick is one of the world's leading solution providers for sensor-based applications for industrial applications. The company is present around the globe with more than 50 subsidiaries and holdings as well as numerous agencies. Sick employs almost 12,000 people worldwide and generated consolidated sales of around 2.2 billion euros in the 2022 financial year. The core business of factory and logistics automation, in which Sick generates over 80 percent of its sales, remains unaffected by the strategic partnership.