The Festo Technology Factory in Scharnhausen near Stuttgart is the leading plant for automation products such as pneumatic valves and valve terminals in Festo's international production network. But that's not all: the plant also serves as a launch pad for innovations such as digitalization on the shop floor.

“Before customers can use digital solutions from Festo, they demonstrate their capabilities here at the Festo Technology Factory. We have been successfully using the AX Smartenance digital maintenance manager and Festo AX Industrial Intelligence solutions for predictive maintenance and predictive energy in our plants for many years, saving time, money, and energy,” explains Marc Schmid, Product Manager Digital Business.

"Digitalization supports our fully automated production in many ways, whether in machining or assembly. At Festo, the plants and development departments are closely interlinked: the experience of colleagues on the shop floor and in development has resulted in these digital products, which had to prove themselves in tough conditions on the shop floor," adds Timo Höhl, energy expert in plant engineering at the Festo Technology Factory. The proximity of the plant to the development departments in Esslingen is an invaluable advantage in this respect.