Tire production at Continental in Korbach
The German automotive supplier is tying itself even more closely to Siemens in this area.
(Photo: Continental)
In the future, Continental will rely even more on Siemens for the automation of its tire plants. As a “preferred supplier”, the technology group is to supply automation and drive technology for production facilities worldwide as part of a strategic agreement, as Siemens announced on Thursday.
The automotive industry is particularly interesting for suppliers. Manufacturers and suppliers opted for a high degree of automation in their plants early on. In addition, numerous new factories for electric vehicles or battery cells are planned worldwide. Car manufacturers and suppliers want to network more closely digitally, for example to bring more transparency into the supply chains.
Siemens technology has already been used in Conti factories. “Without modern and innovative tires, we will not achieve our safety, efficiency and sustainability goals,” said Cedrik Neike, Board Member for Industry. The partnership with Continental Tires is now being expanded.
Demand for industrial automation is growing worldwide
According to industry circles, the additional business volume is in the tens of millions. Siemens did not give any numbers. The task is to create uniform standards in the tire plants that “help Continental to operate the production machines even more efficiently throughout the life cycle”. The standardization with Simatic controllers and uniform software also promises good business for the group in the longer term.
The demand for industrial automation technology is still high worldwide. Siemens was recently able to gain further market shares. In the first quarter of the fiscal year that started in October, sales in the Digital Industries division increased by a comparable 15 percent to EUR 5.1 billion. Currency-adjusted sales at US competitor Rockwell Automation increased by around ten percent to two billion dollars.
The prospects are still good. According to estimates by Mordor Intelligence experts, the global market for factory automation and industrial control systems could grow by an average of 10 percent a year to 340 billion dollars by 2026.
The US market is currently particularly attractive because of the lower energy costs and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) subsidy program. “The USA is particularly popular with industry,” says Marcus Berret, Global Managing Director at strategy consultancy Roland Berger. Numerous companies such as Volkswagen, Bosch, Krones and Lanxess have announced investments in expanding production in North America.
For Siemens, this is often an opportunity to accompany customers to the USA and thus gain market share there. The group is also considering building an automation factory in the United States.
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