Beckhoff Automation

Type| Private
(GmbH & Co. KG)
Industry| Electronics, automation
Predecessor| Elektro Beckhoff
Founded| 1980; 46 years ago (1980)
Founder| Hans Beckhoff
Headquarters|

Verl

Germany

Area served

| Worldwide
Products| EtherCAT

Net income

| €923 million (2020)
Owner| Beckhoff family

Number of employees

| 4,500 (2020)
Website| www.beckhoff.com

Beckhoff Automation (formerly Beckhoff Industrie Elektronik) is an international company headquartered in Verl, Germany.[1] It is represented at over 75 locations worldwide, belongs to the Beckhoff Group and specializes in automation technology.[2] The portfolio includes systems and software for industry, for example, in the field of machine automation or building control. A key feature is the use of PC-based control technology developed based on open standards.[3] Beckhoff is the initiator of the real-time ethernet EtherCAT.[4]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Early history
* 1.2 Innovation course
* 1.3 Recent history
* 2 Company
* 2.1 Legal entity
* 2.2 Locations
* 3 Products
* 3.1 IPC
* 3.2 I/O
* 3.3 Motion
* 3.4 Automation
* 4 Notes and references
* 5 External links

## History

### Early history

Beckhoff Automation was founded in 1980 by Hans Beckhoff. His father had left him and his three siblings a medium-sized electrical company, which formed the foundation for today's Beckhoff Group. The origins of the company date back to 1953, when Arnold and Elisabeth Beckhoff founded the "Beckhoff" company in Verl, East Westphalia. Until now, Beckhoff is one of the most important companies in the town.[5]

### Innovation course

In the 1980s and 1990s, Beckhoff developed numerous technical innovations in the field of automation technology. In 1986, the company launched the first PC-based machine controller.[6] Due to its speed, it displaced conventional systems from manufacturers such as Siemens.[7] In 1990, Beckhoff exhibited for the first time at the Hanover Fair. Later in the 1990s, the company established and expanded a sales force in Germany. Then, in the 2000s, international expansion began.

### Recent history

Until 2005, the company operated under the name "Beckhoff Industrie Elektronik"; since then, it has been called "Beckhoff Automation". In 2014, it generated more than 500 million euros in revenue for the first time. To this day, Beckhoff Automation, like the other companies in the Beckhoff Group, is run as a family business.[8][9]

In the 2010s, the company began to invest more together with other suppliers in the industrial environment. The company is committed to standardizing data exchange in factory floors so that systems from different manufacturers can be used together.[10][11]

## Company

### Legal entity

Beckhoff Automation is organized as a GmbH & Co. KG. The general partner of the company is Maria Röhr and a limited liability management company.[12]

### Locations

The company headquarters are still located in Verl, district of Gütersloh.[13] The company is committed to the further development of its region, for example in the field of artificial intelligence. Globally, Beckhoff Automation is represented by 39 of its own subsidiaries as well as cooperation partners in over 75 countries. Important locations include Minneapolis, São Paulo, Istanbul, Dubai, Pune, Shanghai, Seoul, and Melbourne.

## Products

### IPC

The “IPC” segment includes Industrial PCs and Embedded PCs. The Industrial PC portfolio consists of built-in and mounting arm Panel PCs, control cabinet Industrial PCs and Control Panels. Different form factors and display sizes are available. A unique selling point of Beckhoff Industrial PCs are the motherboards, which Beckhoff develops and produces itself in Westphalia, Germany. PCs with 3½-inch motherboard and ATX motherboard are manufactured.[14] With the Embedded PC product line, Beckhoff sells modular Industrial PCs that can be mounted directly on the DIN rail in the control cabinet. The Embedded PCs are very compact and have a connection area for bus terminals or EtherCAT terminals.[15]

### I/O

Beckhoff Automation groups its fieldbus components under “I/O” (input/output). These include the IP 20 I/O systems EtherCAT Terminals and Bus Terminals, the IP 67 systems EtherCAT Box and Fieldbus Box, as well as infrastructure components such as fieldbus cards, switches and EtherCAT distributors and converters. In addition to the company's own EtherCAT fieldbus system, the I/O systems from Beckhoff Automation support a wide range of other fieldbus systems, including Profibus, Profinet, EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet and CANopen.[16]

### Motion

In the “Motion” area, the product range consists of servo amplifiers, servo motors, linear motors, stepper motors and planetary gearheads. With One Cable Technology (OCT), Beckhoff has introduced the single-cable connection for servomotors to the market. The new OCT system is the first of its kind in the field of drive technology.

The “eXtended Transport System” (XTS) drive system developed by Beckhoff represents an innovation in drive technology. This is a linear motor on which a variable number of movers can travel independently of each other in an endless loop.[17]

### Automation

Beckhoff Automation bundles all software products and system solutions under the term “Automation.” The core product is the TwinCAT automation software. The TwinCAT 3 version has been integrated by Beckhoff into the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment. This means that Visual Studio can be used for automation and application programming, while at the same time providing the user with a larger number of programming languages. In addition to the classic PLC programming according to IEC 61131-3, programming can optionally be done in C/C++. A connection to Matlab/Simulink is also integrated into the software.

The TwinSAFE safety solution integrates safety-relevant sensors and actuators into the machine controller. Signal transmission takes place via the standard fieldbus system, eliminating the need for a separate safety circuit.

With XFC (eXtreme Fast Control Technology), Beckhoff offers a control solution in which the I/O response time is less than 100 microseconds. This makes sampling rates of up to 10,000 times per second possible, which enables particularly precise, material- and energy-saving production.

## Notes and references

1. ↑ "Beckhoff Automation GmbH" (in en). Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/7560892Z:GR.
2. ↑ Henrich, Anke; Hubik, Franz; Olbermann, Hermann J.; Goebel, Jaqueline; Brück, Mario (2015-01-26), "Schöpferische Neuauflage" (in de), WirtschaftsWoche: 40, https://www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/mittelstand/champions-des-deutschen-mittelstands-die-neuen-strategien-der-weltmarktfuehrer-/11270396.html, retrieved 2022-02-08
3. ↑ (in de) Champions des deutschen Mittelstands: Die neuen Strategien der Weltmarktführer, http://www.wiwo.de/unternehmen/mittelstand/champions-des-deutschen-mittelstands-die-neuen-strategien-der-weltmarktfuehrer-/11270396.html, retrieved 2015-12-29
4. ↑ Technological Milestones, Beckhoff Automation, https://www.beckhoff.com/en-en/company/technological-milestones/, retrieved 2021-11-25
5. ↑ Seibel, Karsten (2020-04-26), "Wir konnten ein paar Euro zur Seite legen." (in de), Welt am Sonntag: 28
6. ↑ "PC-kompatible Maschinensteuerung" (in de), Handelsblatt: 23, 1991-10-23
7. ↑ Rauscheder, Winfried (1994-04-15), "Steuerungen: Einfach besser. Ein Neuerer aus Westfalen verdrängt mit Personalcomputern die herkömmlichen Systeme. Lobeshymnen über die Schnelligkeit." (in de), WirtschaftsWoche: 94
8. ↑ Stolte, Julian (2013-09-21), "60-Jahr-Feier bei Beckhoff: Aus Zwei-Personen-Betrieb wird eine Unternehmensgruppe. Dritte Generation steht bereit." (in de), Westfalen-Blatt
9. ↑ "Ein Familienunternehmer aus Leidenschaft: Arnold Beckhoff feiert am Sonntag seine 50-jährige Firmenzugehörigkeit. Angefangen hat der heute 65-Jährige 1971 als Lehrling." (in de), Neue Westfälische / Gütersloher Zeitung: 23, 2021-07-31
10. ↑ Ermisch, Steffen (2017-11-27), "Sprachkurs für Maschinen" (in de), Handelsblatt: 48
11. ↑ Borchers, Detlef (2008-04-22) (in de), Open Source trifft die Industrie, https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Open-Source-trifft-die-Industrie-201855.html, retrieved 2021-11-30
12. ↑ "Unternehmensregister". Bundesanzeiger Verlag. https://www.unternehmensregister.de/ureg/.
13. ↑ Frederic Spohr: Gemeinsam zupacken: Wer die Zusammenarbeit mit der Konkurrenz wagt, wird oft dafür belohnt. In: Handelsblatt, 27. Februar 2013, S. 50.
14. ↑ "Elektronik Praxis: Eigene Motherboard- und Bios-Entwicklung in Westfalen". Vogel Verlag. http://www.elektronikpraxis.vogel.de/embedded-computing/articles/49327.
15. ↑ "Elektroniknet: Zweite Generation modularer Embedded-PCs". Weka Fachmedien. http://www.elektroniknet.de/automation/steuerungstechnik/artikel/83020/0.
16. ↑ "Beckhoff-Busklemmen: Das umfangreiche E/A-System". SPS-Magazin. http://www.sps-magazin.de/?inc=artikel/article_show&nr=49785.
17. ↑ (in de) Antriebstechnik neu gedacht, VDE Verlag, http://www.etz.de/2504-0-Antriebstechnik+neu+gedacht.html, retrieved 2014-05-12

## External links

* Official website

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Categories:

* Automation
* Electronics companies

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