SICK and Endress+Hauser Partner on Process Automation

German sensor company SICK, and Swiss measurement and automation technology specialist Endress+Hauser are planning a strategic partnership for SICK’s process automation business segment and have signed a joint memorandum of understanding.

By combining their strengths, the companies want to provide even better support for their customers in important areas such as energy and resource efficiency, and protection of the climate and environment.

The goal of the partnership is to expand the Endress+Hauser product portfolio with process analysis and gas flow measurement engineering from SICK. The two companies intend to establish a joint venture for the production and further development of SICK process technology. The sales and service teams of SICK’s process automation business segment will become part of Endress+Hauser’s global sales network. In total, this segment currently employs more than 1,400 people in 28 countries and generates more than 350 million euros in annual sales.

“Our strategic partnership is about mutual benefits at many levels. We want to seize shared opportunities by bundling our strengths. Because SICK and Endress+Hauser are already highly successful companies on their own, we are acting from a position of strength. We are convinced that together we will be even more successful. And by working cooperatively, we can support our customers even better and accompany them in the sustainable transformation of the process industry,” said Matthias Altendorf, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group.

The process technology offerings from both companies complement each other. The process analysis and gas flow measurement engineering from SICK — for emissions monitoring in flue gas cleaning processes or for gas flow measurements, for example — are employed particularly in waste incineration facilities, at power, steel and cement plants, the oil & gas industry, chemical and petrochemical production, and the marine sector. In the past, the companies have frequently worked together on an order, project, and customer basis.

With the MOU as a foundation, experts from both companies are now conducting due diligence to determine how the collaboration can be accomplished and brought to fruition. The contract is expected to be signed before the end of Q1 2024, while closing is scheduled for the middle of 2024.

“Through this strategic partnership, Endress+Hauser and SICK will break new ground. The impulse and source of momentum for this undertaking is the dynamic market environment for process automation, produced by the progressive decarbonization of industry," said Dr. Mats Gökstorp, Executive Board chair at SICK. "By working together, we can better capitalize on these excellent opportunities, while also developing the best solutions for and with our customers. Our years of collaboration in the past, similarities in the corporate cultures of our family-owned businesses, and our shared affinity for technology and people are key motivators. And successful joint projects with Endress+Hauser in the past show that we work well together.”