Q. Being the key player in the industry, Please brief us company’s journey from inception & share some of the milestones achieved?
What once started as a three-man company has become an international business group. Well-trained technicians form the backbone of the sensor specialist company. Today, more than 1000 people all over the world are employed by the business group. Founded in Hanover as a trading company for strain gauges, the foundation for the in-house development of Micro-Epsilon products was established in Ortenburg in 1976. In the beginning, only a small electronics laboratory existed in the cellar room of a private house. A few years later, the first proprietary company premises were established at the present headquarters in Ortenburg. In all these years, Micro-Epsilon has not only built up knowledge and expertise but also numerous locations all over the world. Furthermore, the fact that Micro-Epsilon has reached today’s company size is due to many technical innovations and new ideas from the employees, with which the company has made a name for itself globally.
For example, there was a quantum leap in eddy current displacement measurement technology when Micro-Epsilon launched the world’s smallest eddy current displacement sensor in 1988. Up to now, miniaturised eddy current sensors from Micro-Epsilon are unmatched in terms of dimensions, robustness and accuracy. This miniaturisation trend combined with highest precision still continues and has to date been a crucial success factor for the company. A current example of success is the confocalDT 2471 HS high speed controller that provides a measuring rate of 70kHz – the fastest confocal chromatic controller with integrated light source in the world. Similarly, the scanCONTROL 29xx-10/BL laser profile scanner has the highest point resolution due to its blue-violet laser line with 1280 points on 10mm. Or the optoNCDT 1320 and 1420 laser triangulation sensors, which are class leading sensors due to their compact design, intelligent signal processing and high measurement precision.
Q. What are the products manufactured by your company?
The product range of the worldwide operating sensor specialist comprises inductive, confocal chromatic and capacitive sensors, together with laser, eddy current, draw-wire and temperature sensors, including inspection and measurement systems, e.g. for modern 3D surface inspection. The company’s main application areas are machine building and machine design, manufacturing automation and R&D. Continuous development efforts, extensive know-how and a wide cooperation network enable the creation of innovative, high precision products.
Q. What is your marketing strategy for India?
Micro-Epsilon India will primarily service existing and new customers in the region. Trained in Germany, the sales engineers offer customers first-class support, establishing the presence of Micro-Epsilon in the emerging Indian market. In particular, the diverse product portfolio of the company will have a positive effect on establishing a foothold in the Indian market. Micro-Epsilon offers mechanical, electromagnetic and optical sensors, as well as measurement systems for displacement, position, temperature and colour, including a range of Ethernet-capable measurement systems.
Q. According you what are the factors affecting to your business? What are the key technological trends that are driving the industry?
Micro-Epsilon focuses on highest precision, miniaturization, smart signal processing and easy integration into machines as well as data transmission via state-of-the art interfaces. In addition to the technology, application consulting and support for the implementation of the measurement task are essential. Micro-Epsilon’s state-of-the-art sensor technology optimizes and accelerates manufacturing processes while realizing 100% quality assurance and significantly reducing costs. In addition, further use of predictive maintenance enables to avoid repairs, reduce failures, plan maintenance cycles and save process data. Whether it is in wind power plants, the world’s largest E-ELT reflecting telescope or robotic production processes – Micro-Epsilon sensors provide high-precision, reliable & process-stable measurement results.
Q. How do you perceive the future of the industry?
Experience and flexibility in customer-oriented sensor development will be more and more in demand in times of Industry 4.0 and Predictive Maintenance. The use of intelligent sensors across complete production processes in order to record, interpret, bundle and identify trends in continuous operation, will become increasingly important. “Measuring instead of switching” and manufacturing processes, in which wear and possible faults are detected even before major damage occurs, are gaining in importance.
