Schmersal to participate in start-up aconno

The objective is to expand development efforts in wireless communication for safety switchgear

Wuppertal, 21 April 2020. The Schmersal Group is to acquire a share of 26 percent in the start-up aconno GmbH. aconno GmbH is a young, growing start-up based in Düsseldorf, Germany, that develops customer-specific hardware, Bluetooth and sensor solutions as well as software for digitisation, the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 applications. aconno GmbH provides Bluetooth chips and a development platform, with which aconno develops smart devices and networkable objects for its customers’ individual, Industry 4.0-capable applications, producing them in series and with a reduced time and cost outlay.  With its participation in aconno GmbH, Schmersal seeks to expand its development efforts in wireless communication solutions for safety switchgear. ‘The creative specialists at aconno will support us in making our sensors and switches Bluetooth capable, by offering us their expertise,’ explains Philip Schmersal, Managing Director. ‘With it, our future switchgear will be able to supply a range of diagnostic data more easily, which in turn will lead to improved machine availability.’
Potential application areas include complex plants such as those used in the packaging industry, where large numbers of switches are involved. Here, Bluetooth will allow error messages from individual switches to be detected more quickly. In addition, Bluetooth solutions will make it easier to transmit non-secure data such as switching cycles, excess temperatures, and moisture and use that information for predictive maintenance concepts. Other potential uses are in large-scale conveyor systems used in heavy industry, where wireless Bluetooth communication over distances of up to several kilometres will enable quick and efficient troubleshooting with signalling safety switches, as well as easier transmission of status and diagnostic information.  ‘We hope that our participation in aconno will allow us to take advantage of considerable development potential and at the same time help us to consolidate our innovative strength,’ emphasises Philip Schmersal. ‘We are pleased that we have been able to win a medium-sized company with an appetite for Industry 4.0 as a partner. It demonstrates that we are on the right path with our innovative technologies’, explains aconno Co-Founder Thomas Hollwedel. ‘With the right collaboration and joint product development, I think that we’ll be able to create considerable synergies.’