VDMA: New Board and new name for the sector group: VDMA Automated Solutions

Frankfurt, November 25, 2024 - At the VDMA Robotics + Automation Members' Assembly, the members of the Automated Solutions sector group elected a new Board. Jörg Kipper, Managing Director of Festo Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG, was reappointed as Chairman of sector group, following his previous term of office.

"The Automated Solutions division offers our member companies an excellent platform for international exchange and therefore provides a significant competitive advantage. Especially in these challenging times, collaboration across industries is extremely important. With our dedicated Board, we want to encourage this cooperation and develop solutions for the required transformation. We are convinced that Europe as a business location has enormous potential and its diversity is one of its greatest strengths that must be utilized,” said Kipper after his re-election as Chairman.

The new board of VDMA Automated Solutions would like to thank Frank Konrad for his active commitment and is pleased that he will remain on the board of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association and on the VDMA Executive Board. Thanks also go to Cornelia Püschel, who has been an active member of the Automated Solutions Board for 15 years. "We are delighted that she can continue to contribute her experience to the VDMA Robotics + Automation Board and the VDMA Executive Board. In addition, the Board looks forward to a productive and successful collaboration with the newly elected members: Tony Arquisch, Jörg Kilb and Christopher Pavel,” says Bernd Heitzmann, Director VDMA Automated Solutions.

The Executive Board of the sector group for the period 2024 to 2027 is therefore composed of:

Tony Arquisch, Head of Corporate Development Asyril SA
Thomas Ernst, Managing Director PIA Automation Holding GmbH
Jörg Kilb, COO HAHN Automation Group GmbH
Jörg Kipper, Managing Director Festo Vertrieb GmbH & Co. KG
Ralph Lehleuter, Geschäftsführender Gesellschafter MAFU Holding GmbH
Jürgen Noailles, Geschäftsführer STEIN Automation GmbH & Co. KG Automation GmbH & Co. KG
Christopher Pavel, Geschäftsführer Rhein-Nadel Automation GmbH
Enno Scharphuis, Senior Vice President Business Unit Assembly Technology, Bosch Rexroth AG

Integrated Assembly Solutions becomes Automated Solutions
The new sector group name "Automated Solutions” was officially announced at the 2024 Robotics + Automation Members' Assembly. The board of former "Integrated Assembly Solutions” had already decided to change the name last summer to better reflect the ongoing development of the sector group in the field of complex automated solutions. The change of name underlines the growing diversity of the member companies, which include not only component suppliers but also system manufacturers. Originally specializing in manual assembly and handling technology, the area of automated solutions is now being developed and complemented at the same time. This reflects the clear shift towards increasingly automated solutions in assembly and handling technology.

Do you have any questions? Bernd Heitzmann, VDMA Automated Solutions, will be happy to answer them: phone +49 69 6603 1530, email bernd.heitzmann@vdma.org.

The VDMA represents 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation and SMEs. The companies employ around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. In the European Union, it represents a turnover volume of an estimated 910 billion euros. Around 80 percent of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the single market.

As part of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association, VDMA Integrated Assembly Solutions has more than 200 members: suppliers of assembly systems and components as well as integrators. The aim of this industry-driven platform is to support the IAS industry through a wide range of activities and services. Key areas of work are statistical analyses and the annual market survey Machine Vision, standardisation activities, marketing, public relations, trade fair policy and networking events and conferences. For further information please visit our website.

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