Waldkirch – The industry is in a state of flux, chiefly driven by climate protection and the long-term transition to non-fossil fuels and resources. This transformation process towards a CO2-neutral global economy calls for new technologies and solutions, e.g. for process automation. German sensor solutions provider SICK and Swiss measurement solutions specialist Endress+Hauser have signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding for strategic partnership in the area of “Cleaner Industries.” 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.
Many firms want to reduce their energy and resource consumption and gradually switch to non-fossil fuels and resources. The requisite new process technologies will need to be monitored and controlled by intelligent sensors and systems. In response to this dynamic market environment for process automation, SICK and Endress+Hauser now plan to tread new paths of collaboration.
Profiting from technological expertise and sector-specific knowhow
Accordingly, SICK AG and Endress+Hauser AG have engaged in intensive discussions on a strategic partnership and signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding to join their forces in process automation. Their goal is to jointly market and refine SICK’s Flow and Analyzer technologies – and to provide customers better support throughout the value chain with future-relevant topics like climate and environmental protection, the energy transition and hydrogen economy in the process.
Tentatively, each company will hold half the shares in the joint venture and contribute half the members of its Senior Management. Endress+Hauser plans to contribute financially, share its technological expertise, and open new sales channels worldwide. In turn, SICK is to contribute the product-generating units of its Cleaner Industries Business Cluster, which include several development and production sites throughout Germany, to the joint venture. The Sales and Service staff at SICK Sales and Service Units around the world with a focus on Cleaner Industries are to be transferred to Endress+Hauser’s Sales Centers. The next phase will involve a thorough review of the relevant business fields and drafting a contract for the two partners – which will tentatively be concluded in the first quarter of 2024 with the official signing of the contract for the integration and related transactions by both parties. The closing is scheduled for mid-2024.
New solutions from market and portfolio synergies – boosting chances of success
The two partners’ current product and solution portfolios in process automation are complementary and leading in their fields of application. In its Cleaner Industries business, SICK develops, manufactures and sells Analyzer applications, e.g. for emissions monitoring in connection with conventional fuels. In addition, SICK’s ultrasonic flow meters already offer reliable measuring for natural gas/hydrogen mixtures, promoting the transition to non-fossil fuels. By providing intelligent solutions for waste incineration plants, power plants, steel works and cement works, for the oil & gas industry, and for chemical/petrochemical plants, SICK has been making an important contribution to preserving the environment for decades.
Endress+Hauser supports customers in the process industry worldwide in their sustainable transformation. With its products, solutions and services, the company contributes to energy and resource efficiency, energy transition and the circular economy.
Dr. Mats Gökstorp, Chairman of the Executive Board at SICK AG: “Through this strategic partnership, Endress+Hauser and SICK will break new ground. The impulse and source of momentum for this undertaking is the dynamic market environment for process automation, produced by the progressive decarbonization of industry. By working together, we can better capitalize on these excellent opportunities, while also developing the best solutions for and with our customers. 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. And successful joint projects with Endress+Hauser in the past show that we work well together.”
Matthias Altendorf, Chief Executive Officer of the Endress+Hauser Group: “Our strategic partnership is about mutual benefits at many levels. We want to seize shared opportunities by bundling our strengths. Because SICK and Endress+Hauser are already highly successful companies on their own, we are acting from a position of strength. 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.”
SICK’s strong core business in factory and logistics automation, which generates more than 80 percent of its sales, won’t be affected by the planned collaboration with Endress+Hauser and is to benefit from a stronger focus. The strategic partnership will offer new opportunities in process automation for both companies – for market-leading technological innovations, for customers around the globe, and for a successful energy transition.
Endress+Hauser is a global leader in measurement and automation technology for process and laboratory applications. The family company, headquartered in Reinach, Switzerland, achieved net sales of more than 3.3 billion euros in 2022 with a total workforce of nearly 16,000.
SICK is one of the world’s leading solutions providers for sensor-based applications in the industrial sector. Founded in 1946 by Dr.-Ing. e. h. Erwin Sick, the company with headquarters in Waldkirch im Breisgau near Freiburg ranks among the technological market leaders. With more than 50 subsidiaries and equity investments as well as numerous agencies, SICK maintains a presence around the globe. SICK has almost 12,000 employees worldwide and generated a group revenue of around EUR 2.2 billion in the 2022 fiscal year. Additional information about SICK is available at www.sick.com