The principal aim of the sensor, fieldbus, connector and interface specialists for factory and process automation is: To take the “time” factor away from the customer.

Mr Wolf, the brothers Hans and Werner Turck founded the company in the sixties with the idea of automating production processes with electronic components. What does Turck stand for today?

Wolf: Turck has significantly changed from conventional suppliers of sensor components to suppliers of complete automation solutions. Our business is not only to understand the individual application of the sensor but also the automation environment. This in turn enables us to reduce the “time” factor for the customer. For this you need to understand the automation periphery and know which control tasks are required by the customer and how these have to be networked. We see ourselves as solution partners for our customers, both in factory and in process automation. This means that we offer solutions for the entire signal processing requirement.

Which products provide the actual solutions?

Wolf: In factory automation our range of products covers the fields of sensor, fieldbus and connection technology, right up to complete solutions such as RFID, which are also available with compact controllers in the form of programmable gateways. In process automation we are developing the links between control systems and field devices in all their variants, from point-to-point, to point-to-bus, right up to bus-to bus processing, i.e. interface, remote I/O and fieldbus technology. In addition to interface technology such as for example isolating switching amplifiers or analogue data transmitters, Turck offers remote I/O systems for zones 1 and 2, as well as fieldbus solutions for Profibus PA, Foundation Fieldbus, HSE and HART.

Wouldn't closed-loop controllers be a good addition to the portfolio?

Wolf: The overall networking of control systems with the field device is a very complex issue. This is the world we know. The world of closed-loop control is also very mechanically driven, and this is not part of our business or our core expertise.

The Turck Group has a very decentralized structure. For which areas are the individual sites responsible?

Wolf: Whilst Turck has a decentralized structure worldwide, it also has an overall and integrated system of management. At the same time, however, every location is charged with a high degree of individual responsibility: The local management has a high degree of self responsibility and utilises control mechanisms – always with the aim of encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset within the company. Each general manager is responsible for his own profit and loss account. This decentralised structure is particularly important for overseas companies, because these companies are those that best understand their respective markets. The German management has the task of implementing the overall strategy with the general managers locally. In our view, it is critical if national subsidiaries are forced to comply with a global strategy without taking local requirements into account.

Doesn't this kind of division give rise to lengthy decision processes? Is it still possible to respond flexibly?

Wolf: On the contrary. The decision is made where it belongs, exactly on location. In this respect, we follow the principles of a lean organisation. In a centralised structure, on the other hand, a wide range of hierarchies would have to be gone through. The individual general managers are free to act as required in the local implementation of the strategy, even in key areas. For example, it is not possible to promote the fieldbus everywhere because the degree of automation is not so strongly developed in certain countries and regions. In other markets and regions on the other hand, sensor technology is subject to enormous price pressure, and customers here require an all-round automation partner. This is a requirement we have to meet in order to make a return on investment quickly.

Which areas are covered by Halver and Mülheim?

Wolf: Turck Mülheim represents the sales and marketing headquarters of the Turck Group, Turck Halver, i.e. Werner Turck GmbH, is the headquarters for production and development. There are therefore two responsible parent companies which are led together under the cover of a holding.

Turck generates around 30 percent of the turnover in the automotive industry which is considered the “Rolls Royce” of the automation sector. How do you manage to stay one of the top suppliers?

Wolf: In the automotive industry this is only possible with very close customer contact. One part of the business is standard, for example conventional inductive M12 sensors, where large volumes are required. However, the most exciting areas naturally involve special applications on robots or on the painting line, i.e. where intricate tasks have to be solved. With the automotive customer, you differentiate and decide whether you are a development partner or just a component supplier.

RFID is a key area at Turck. According to your own statements, you have made the most advances in this field. What does this mean in real terms and what are the future trends?

Wolf: Our RFID activities concentrate exclusively on industrial applications. We have no intention, for example, of penetrating the consumer sectors, but aim to focus on the automotive industry, machine building, the packaging industry and industrial logistics. For this we have developed rugged components such as tags, write/read heads and interface devices which we have integrated directly in a modular fieldbus system. This means that the RFID processing is implemented directly with a fieldbus coupler. This is located on the fieldbus level in close proximity to the controller.

Right from the start, we have also been able to offer our high temperature tag for the automotive industry, a product that previously never existed. This can even be run, for example, through paint lines at temperatures up to 230 degrees Celsius.

We started with the 13.56 Megahertz technology, and are currently working with UHF technology, as well as the 125 KHz solutions, in order to round off our product portfolio. As far as write/read heads are concerned, we are continuously offering new designs that are optimised for applications, such as for roller conveyors. We also offer a higher level of integration in the existing automation environment.

Turck invests around 10 percent of its turnover in R&D. What are the other challenges that you face?

Wolf: We intend to gain a firmer foothold than previously in the field of pressure, temperature and flow sensors, especially in the machine building sector. We also intend to make further developments in the field of linear position sensors, and also in the field of analogue measuring. Bus technology allows us to develop further as solution suppliers, in other words, also penetrating the control technology sector, as well as in the field of industrial identification. IT and automation technology will continue to merge even further, and this is something we must take into account within our strategy. A high R&D investment is very important for us. If you want to maintain an innovation edge you have to remain one of the Top 3 suppliers in each market segment. We manufacture around 70 percent of our products in Germany. If you are number 5 or 6 in the market, this is not very attractive and does not guarantee two-digit annual growth. In the USA we are market leaders in inductive sensors and connectivity solutions. In China we are also market leaders in these areas and are now already the number 2 in fieldbus technology. We need to expand this further since this is already where the largest automation markets outside Europe are found. The outcome of the struggles for new markets such as in Russia, India, Brazil or the Middle East will be critical. We have already taken a leading position in Eastern Europe because we started at a very early stage. However, it must also be said that our aim to penetrate overseas markets is also based on our intention of strengthening our activities at home in Germany.

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Company in brief

Employees: Over 2,700 in 27 countries

Production facilities: Germany (2x), Switzerland, USA, Mexico and China

Agencies: In another 60 states

Sales: Over 330 million Euros (2007)

Products: More than 15,000 products from the sensor, fieldbus, connection and interface technology for production and process automation.

The interview was held with KEM editor Denise Fröhlich