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Research and development

Innovations for the machinery safety of tomorrow
– worldwide in six plants

With a staff of more than 100 people working at six plants worldwide, our Research & Development (R&D) department is constantly translating new ideas into marketable products. This is where the stimuli and the products, constituting the basis of the innovation leadership of the Schmersal Group on the market, come to life.

The R&D department is divided into three specialised fields:

mechanics, electronics and test engineering

In addition to the central Research & Development based at the Wuppertal headquarters, the Schmersal Group has five more development plants (Wettenberg, Mühldorf, Bergisch Gladbach, Boituva/Brazil und Shanghai/China). All of these sites use the same databases, tools and organisational structures. In this way, we make sure that the available competences are optimally used during each and every development project – for the benefit of the customer.

Structured development

The development of each individual product abides to the clear structure of the modern innovation and project management: from the initial idea over the technical implementation up to the manufacturing of samples and the associated production and test systems.

For the certification of new products to the harmonised standards and directives, Schmersal cooperates with the responsible committees and the accredited certification bodies. Because of the DakkS accreditation, the test lab can carry out many tests on its own, thus considerably reducing the time needed for launching the product on the market.

Room for creativity – Research and developing at Schmersal’s

The employees of the Research & Development department are working with state-of-the-art tools in a pleasant environment, designed to promote creativity. The workplaces are generously sized – after all, this is where the ideas for the products of tomorrow should emerge. Furthermore, Schmersal considers the continuous qualification through a range of training programmes to be an absolute prerequisite for developing innovative safety switchgear.

A research network – within the company and beyond

Many development teams and workgroups are operating across divisions as well as across all sites. They are concentrating, amongst other things, on cross-cutting issues such as the construction of switchgear compliant to the ATEX-Directive for explosion protection as well as in accordance with the new standards and directives, which are prepared in the international standardisation bodies.

In addition to that, the Schmersal Group works closely together with universities, colleges and institutions on the topic of Research and Development, e.g. the Wuppertal University (Machinery Construction/Safety Technology Faculty), the Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, St. Augustin, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation (IPA), Stuttgart and the University of Nagoya/Japan.

Focus on the requirements and needs of the customer

Many ideas and suggestions that have led to the creation of brand-new products either customer-specific variants find their origin in discussions with other departments. Apart from the product management, which provides important impetus for new developments, the colleagues from the industry management, the marketing and the sales department also hear the “market whispers”. This leads to innovations offering Schmersal’s customers, i.e. the machinery and plant builders, the advantages they need to give them a crucial competitive edge. In turn, their customers benefit from highly productive, safe and ergonomically designed machinery and plants.