“One of Beckhoff’s corporate values is that engineers must take responsibility for saving the world!” Hans Beckhoff explains.

High-performance technology can help automate all types of equipment. Machine tools, the plastics processing industry and packaging machinery (to name just three of the many application areas) account for a significant portion of Beckhoff’s business. “The process industry is also a growing market for us.” Hans Beckhoff added.

Beckhoff has a global presence, with 70 per cent of its sales now coming from outside Germany. But from the very beginning, Beckhoff has adhered to the values of family business, which is why the company has been able to operate successfully across borders. “We have built a strong brand reputation for quality and cutting-edge innovation, while also building trust.” He continued, “One of the key cornerstones of our growth strategy is to ensure that we provide support and service to our global customers.” To do this, more than 30 percent of the employees hired by the company are professionally trained engineers, most of whom are hired in local customer operations centers. “Not only do they understand how automation technology works, but they also understand the specific applications of their customers. “Automation is very complex and requires a lot of manpower.”

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In such a competitive environment, how to retain talent is a challenge, and Beckhoff has always treated the company as a family and employees as family, and has successfully met this challenge. This has been particularly evident during the COVID-19 outbreak. At that time, the company opened a vaccination center at one of its production sites, which helped vaccinate about 12,000 people, including Beckhoff’s own employees, family members and local residents.

These moves have paid off handsomely for Beckhoff. “We have a strong marketing team, but our growth cannot be separated from our word of mouth, as our reputation has steadily improved in industries where we already have a customer base.” Frederike Beckhoff, assistant general Manager, said, “For example, they show our contribution to their projects and products at exhibitions around the world and become our most effective brand ambassadors.”

The resulting financial stability is also key to the company’s ability to consistently innovate – whether it’s evolving technology or launching radically revolutionary products. “We are constantly evolving and improving our products.” “Every five to seven years, we come up with something revolutionary,” Beckhoff says. For example, Beckhoff has developed ground-breaking technologies such as XTS and XPlanar and EtherCAT that have raised the bar in the automation industry. In 2021, Beckhoff introduced a pluggable MX-System with an overall modular design. This innovative solution enables controller-less automation of equipment and systems. In terms of software, the TwinCAT (Windows-based Control and Automation Technology) automation suite, introduced in 1996, has been at the heart of Beckhoff’s control systems and is constantly being further developed.

So what does the future hold for Beckhoff Automation? Beckhoff will further accelerate its expansion into international markets, while the next generation of Beckford family has begun to work with its father, and family business values seem to have been passed on. “Our business model is very scalable.” “I think we can grow into a $3 billion company by 2030,” Beckhoff said.