Sick forms joint venture with Endress+Hauser to meet demand for “cleaner industries”

The German industrial sensor maker Sick AG and Swiss measurement solutions specialist Endress+Hauser plan to launch a strategic partnership to support process automation, saying new solutions are needed to help companies transition their operations to reach a CO2-neutral global economy.

The “cleaner industries” initiative comes as Sick says the industry is in a state of flux, chiefly driven by climate protection and the long-term transition to non-fossil fuels and resources. Both companies say they see valuable opportunities to jointly contribute to a future-ready power supply, while also helping customers in the process industry throughout the value chain to meet their sustainability targets.

Under terms of the agreement, each company will hold half the shares in the joint venture and contribute half the members of its senior management team. Endress+Hauser plans to contribute financially, share its technological expertise, and open new sales channels worldwide. In turn, Sick is to contribute the product-generating units of its Cleaner Industries Business Cluster, which include several development and production sites throughout Germany. The closing is scheduled for mid-2024.

Together, the partners’ goal is to jointly market and refine Sick’s Flow and Analyzer technologies – and to provide customers better support throughout the value chain with future-relevant topics like climate and environmental protection, the energy transition, and hydrogen economy in the process.

“Through this strategic partnership, Endress+Hauser and Sick will break new ground,” Mats Gökstorp, chairman of the executive board at Sick, said in a release. “The impulse and source of momentum for this undertaking is the dynamic market environment for process automation, produced by the progressive decarbonization of industry. 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.”