As the companies have now announced , TRUMPF has acquired a quarter (25.1%) of the shares in ZIGPOS ; ZIGPOS’ founders remain the majority shareholders. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details of the investment. ZIGPOS is a spin-off of Dresden University of Applied Sciences (HTW) and employs around 20 people. TRUMPF had been on the lookout for the best positioning technology for networked production. The Group reports that its investment will complement its existing intralogistics offer. TRUMPF’s participation is expected to generate significant growth for ZIGPOS, in particular in terms of acquiring more major customers from industry and logistics.

ZIGPOS’ technology is already in use in Siemens, Infineon, and VW plants. It allows workpieces, transport robots, and other mobile units to be located on the plant premises in real time, and thereby efficiently directed. The system works without the use of GPS and can be used in closed buildings. To this end, the factory is equipped with base stations, known as ‘anchors’. Machines and workpieces are equipped with digital badges. The controlling software is then able to locate the objects with an accuracy of 30 cm.