Company profile

Festo AG is a global player and an independent family-owned company with headquarters in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany. The company supplies pneumatic and electrical automation technology to 300,000 customers of factory and process automation in over 35 industries. The products and services are available in 176 countries. With about 22,000 employees in over 250 branch offices in 61 countries worldwide, Festo achieved a turnover of around €3.4 billion in 2018. Each year around 8% of this turnover is invested in research and development. In this learning company, 1.5% of turnover is invested in basic and further training. Yet training services are not only provided for Festo’s own staff – Festo Didactic SE also supplies basic and further training programmes in the field of automation technology for customers, students and trainees.

“Festo products have followed the motto ‘fit and forget’ for many decades. Although this guiding principle still applies today, nowadays the products of the company are installed and generate additional added value – thanks to digitalisation.”

Dr Frank Melzer, Member of the Board, Product and Technology Management at Festo AG

Products

VTEM Festo Motion Terminal – Digitalization in pneumatics

“The Motion Terminal VTEM is opening up radical new dimensions in the world of automation, as it is the world’s first valve to be controlled by apps. The first product to truly earn the label “digitised pneumatics”. For a multitude of functions that currently require more than 50 components. The new valve technology of the Festo Motion Terminal can be used for a wide range of products, functions and complete solution packages. The Festo Motion Terminal offers you benefits throughout the entire value chain, from the design to the modernisation of your machine. The Motion Apps, which control a single piece of hardware, are an integral part. They allow you to standardise your applications while offering unparalleled levels of flexibility. The result: huge savings and increased productivity. For the first time ever, the functions of a valve can be controlled and changed by software – without the need to change the hardware. This completely new, intelligent technology consisting of pneumatics, electronics and software control can be used to realise a wide range of functions, from simple directional control valve functions through to complex motion tasks. It also allows you to realise functions such as status monitoring and reduced energy consumption with far fewer components than before. In addition, some Motion Apps can automatically adjust to changes in parameters.

Spindle and toothed belt axes ELGC and mini slides EGSC

For applications where compact dimensions are essential, these axes can be combined into very space-saving handling systems that fit seamlessly into assembly systems, testing and inspection systems, small parts handling units, desk top applications and in the electronics industry. The low-cost linear axes ELGC and the mini slides EGSC offer an optimal ratio between installation space and working space. They feature a common system approach, platform architecture and, last but not least, adapterless connections.