European firms Sick, Endress and Hauser to team up in automation space

WALDKIRCH—Two technology firms with their eyes on sustainability and automated manufacturing will look to join forces in the process automation space.

Sick A.G., of Waldkirch, Germany, and Endress and Hauser A.G., of Reinach, Switzerland, signed a memorandum of understanding Oct. 27 to form the strategic partnership to address the energy transition that is taking place across industries.

Sick is a producer of sensors and sensor solutions for industrial applications with about $2.2 billion in net sales globally. Endress and Hauser is a process and laboratory instrument maker and automation supplier with nearly $3 billion in sales in 2021.

"Through this strategic partnership, Endress and Hauser and Sick will break new ground," said Mats Gokstorp, chairman of the executive board at Sick. "The impulse and source of momentum for this undertaking is the dynamic market environment for process automation, produced by the progressive decarbonization of industry."

Gokstorp noted that by working together, the two firms can leverage these opportunities.

"Our years of collaboration in the past, similarities in the corporate cultures of our family-owned businesses and our shared affinity for technology and people are key motivators," Gokstorp said. "And successful joint projects with Endress and Hauser in the past show that we work well together."

The planned partnership has its motivation in an economy being driven by climate protection and carbon neutrality goals, all with the intent of pushing cleaner industry.

Both companies see "valuable opportunities to jointly contribute to a future-ready power supply, while also helping customers in the process industry throughout the value chain to meet their sustainability targets," Sick said in an Oct. 27 release.

And automated processing systems need to be driven by intelligent sensors, which is where Endress and Hauser comes in.

"Our strategic partnership is about mutual benefits at many levels," said Matthias Altendorf, CEO of the Endress and Hauser Group. "We want to seize shared opportunities by bundling our strengths. We are convinced that together we will be even more successful. And by working cooperatively, we can support our customers even better and accompany them in the sustainable transformation of the process industry."

As the plan stands now, each company will hold 50 percent of the shares in the joint venture, with each contributing half the members for the JV's senior management.

Endress and Hauser will offer its financial backing, sales expertise and sales channels, while Sick will bring the manufacturing units of its Cleaner Industries Business Cluster to the table.

The second phase of the partnership will involve a review of the relevant business fields and drafting a contract for the two partners.

The official closing of the partnership is set for mid-2024.