When many international companies meet again at HANNOVER MESSE 2023 in April, they will all be setting their own priorities - and yet they will have one thing in common: they are currently facing major tasks that require profound rethinking and further development. In addition to urgent questions about energy security or functioning supply chains, there are big question marks above all behind the megatopics of sustainability and digitalisation. SCHUNK, the automation specialist, will be demonstrating that both topics go hand in hand and will be deliberately focusing on open dialogue in Hanover. Through exchange and cooperation in a spirit of partnership, future-proof concepts and technologies are to be developed to tackle the challenges of these times.

Committed partner for self-determined digitalisation

The family-owned company from Lauffen am Neckar is driving digitalisation forward both with its solutions for customers and at a higher level. For example, SCHUNK has long been involved in the management of the Industrie 4.0 platform, the network of German business associations that drives forward the German government's high-tech strategy. In this way, the company becomes an active co-designer of the digital transformation and launches concepts on key digital topics. In this way, SCHUNK is already implementing the central theme of this year's HANNOVER MESSE "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference". In addition, CEO Henrik A. Schunk is also involved in the digitalisation initiative Manufacturing-X. This aims to create a sovereign, federated data space for digitally networked industry that makes value chains more sustainable, transparent and resilient. After all, trust and sovereignty over their own data is crucial for companies on their way to a successful digital future.

Innovations for a more sustainable industry

SCHUNK will be demonstrating how digital solutions lead to greater efficiency and lower resource consumption with three innovative examples. For example, the bio-inspired technology ADHESO grips sensitive or difficult-to-handle parts gently, residue-free and, above all, completely without energy, using adhesive force. The environmentally friendly technology was awarded the German Innovation Prize for Climate and Environment in 2022. The iTENDO2 smart tool holder transmits data in real time and thus ensures machining processes that require maximum precision. The solution, which received the German Innovation Award 2022, ensures transparency and traceability and can also reduce scrap in this way. Thanks to an AI developed by SCHUNK, the 2D Grasping Kit is designed to make gripping individual objects randomly arranged on a plane child's play. According to Schunk, the complete package of hardware, software and service requires no prior knowledge of programming or image recognition.

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