Festo - a world leader in automation and technical training & education - supplies pneumatic and electrical automation technology to 300,000 customers of factory and process automation in over 35 industries. In this interaction with Rakesh Rao at Hannover Messe 2023 (HM23), Frank Notz, Member of the Management Board, Sales, Festo SE & Co KG, explains how technologies can be leveraged for industrial growth in an eco-friendly way and importance of India for the company. 

What trends are you seeing in the market at present?

Festo is present in many industries such as automotive, food, packaging, electronics, textiles, etc. We offer solutions for automation, pneumatics and electric automation for machine builders and also for customers (end-users) who use the machines. 

Market is very dynamic at present and, with respect to trends, we see multiple layers. Electric vehicle, semiconductors, rising need for automation, etc are some of the major trends. Hydrogen is a growth sector with many countries encouraging investments in this area. At Hannover Messe 2023, an entire hall has been dedicated for hydrogen. 

Technology wise, integration of intelligence into mechanical components is a major trend. Many companies are talking about smart factories, where you need smart elements at component level, sub-system level and system level to wholly integrate your factory.

How is Festo tapping these trends? 

We have aligned our sales and product development strategies with these trends. We develop products and solutions to enable our customers to solve their problems. Our engineering roadmap is based on these technology and market trends. At the same time, it is important to focus on developing new skills. For this, Festo provides educational support to its customers along with products and technologies. In India, we run dual apprenticeship program which is very successful.

What are the highlights of Festo’s stall at HM23?

At HM23, we have theme of Festo Blue World vision. Here we are demonstrating how automation and technical education can be enabling factors to drive forward industrial transformation towards a carbon-neutral production and a circular economy.

How do you see the potential of hydrogen economy?

Hydrogen is a big potential market. Hydrogen can be used for direct applications like trucks, trains, etc, and bring green energy closer to the sources where it is needed. The problem with electricity is that the consumption centres are not near to the production units. On the other hand, hydrogen can be stored easily in relatively high energy density and can be reliable energy source in varied climatic conditions ranging from hot & sunny areas to very cold regions.

Hydrogen is generated through electrolysers for which Festo has a complete set of products & solutions.  

What kinds of opportunities are you looking in India?

India is very close to our heart as it offers multiple opportunities for us. India is one of the three locations globally assigned as “Business Region”, which has special position and power (which other subsidiaries do not have); thus enabling faster decision making process.

With all the companies talking about building resilient supply chain, India will benefit vastly. We are already seeing this with lots of foreign investments going to the country. India is open for new technologies and has lots of skilled workers, good education system, large domestic market, and competitive cost structure to enable export from India. These ingredients make India a very competitive industrial hub.

Hence, we are investing more in India. In September 2022, we bought a big piece of land in Hosur (Tamil Nadu) and we will start to build our new factory from next year. Festo has a philosophy of “local for local”, and when we establish a manufacturing facility, we also develop local supply chain. You need to be closer to the market when you develop new solutions. The new facility, which will be operational by the end of 2024, will also house global R&D function. 

We want to grow faster than the market and India will play a big part in Festo’s future growth.