B&R Industrial Automation Enjoys Its 30th Year

Always on the lookout for new automation prospects for machine and system manufacturing, the company has developed into one of the largest privately owned companies on the international market within the last 30 years. Many technological milestones and a sales and support network in 60 countries make the Austrian company, with headquarters in Eggelsberg, a sought-after partner with worldwide recognition. In 2008, B&R 1700 employees all over the world achieved a turnover of 300 million euros.

Local production: A foundation for success

"Our goal is to provide the market with technologically advanced automation solutions. With a large development team and an annual investment of 17% of our total revenue in R&D, we can keep innovation times short for all new developments," explains B&R Managing Director Hans Wimmer. The close cooperation between development and production at the headquarters has also been an important part of the corporate strategy since beginning of the company's history. With the expansion of the headquarters in Eggelsberg, the technology leader gains significant advantages through the high quality of the strategic location.

Technological milestones

Accompanied by many new developments, B&R was able to considerably strengthen its international market position over the years and continue to grow. In 1980, the highly specialized Unicount counter series as well as the freely programmable Unicontroller PLC were ranked among the most progressive automation products of the time. With further crucial steps such as the decision to produce PCs (1993) or the introduction of a new communications network - POWERLINK (2001), the company recognized important market requirements and provided customers with competitive solutions. "At the same time, it's important to make clear that many of our innovations were also accompanied by comprehensive software solutions", emphasizes Hans Wimmer. With Automation Studio, B&R offers a uniform platform for all automation products.