During the course of the traditional press conference at the SPS, Christopher Ukatz, Managing Director of HARTING Germany, and Edgar Düning, Spokesman for the HARTING Management Board, outlined that the technology group had achieved its sales and revenue targets for the 2021/2022 financial year now elapsed (30 September 2022). At the same time, they made it clear that future forecasts continue to point to difficult times ahead. "The ongoing military conflict in Ukraine, the shortage of materials, inflationary developments – not only in the energy sector – and a looming recession in Europe are just some of the issues that are currently occupying us and our customers," as Edgar Düning stated. The company will announce further details at the annual press conference on 09 December 2022 in Espelkamp.

Strong partners – resilient companies

"In order to be able to continue to offer the accustomed HARTING standards – also in challenging political and economic times – we are positioning ourselves robustly and resiliently," adds Edgar Düning. The focus here is on strengthening the core business, developing new technologies while also involving strategic partners for new and more powerful connectivity solutions. In August, the technology company and Studer Cables announced their strategic partnership in the course of the takeover of the cable manufacturer by the Harting family of entrepreneurs. "With HARTING, we have gained an excellent partner. We are delighted to be working with the technology group to both expand our solutions portfolio and to contribute our cable expertise in developing and offering new connectivity solutions for industrial automation, energy & infrastructure, transportation and energy systems in the future," as Bruno Fankhauser, CEO of Studer Cables AG, stated, in explaining the key customer benefits of the partnership.

Active Connectivity+ solutions offering new possibilities

Derived from the social and technological megatrends, HARTING Connectivity+ is developing solutions that extend far beyond classic components and provide special added value for customers. This also includes the "Smart Electrical Connectivity" topic area. At this year’s autumn trade fairs, HARTING is presenting the world’s first active connector that features internal authentication of plug and socket, state-based locking and a digital twin in accordance with the IDTA standard: all systems go for Industry 4.0.

In another variant, different voltage/current levels can be set digitally. The connection adjusts automatically depending on the consumer and offers maximum flexibility in use. In addition, the connection solution enables access management – meaning that only authorised devices can be supplied with power and exchange data, thereby ensuring additional protection of sensitive infrastructure.

In addition to Smart Electrical Connectivity, the Technology Group will be showcasing the HARTING SPE Evaluation Board at the SPS and electronica trade fairs. The board enables developers to integrate Single Pair Ethernet technology into their products. By way of a 2-wire connection, the SPE board transmits data at 100Mbit/s as well as power. Thanks to the Arduino-compatible board, it’s easy to get up and running.

From basic technology to a sustainable Connectivity+ solution

The Han-Modular^® Domino modules took second place in this year’s HERMES Award. The interface for transmitting power, data and signals is one of the latest Connectivity+ solutions from the technology group and provides "individual" and flexible configuration of the connectors – resulting in space and weight savings of up to 50 %. As a direct consequence, the Connectivity+ solution conserves resources and thereby trims the CO2 footprint throughout – from the production of the connectors, through to transport and on to their use by customers.

New technologies for the digital automation of the future

Single Pair Ethernet (SPE) is considered one of the most important trends for the future of industrial communication. HARTING is already presenting the technology in application with the Ha-VIS eCon SPE switch at the SPS. The smart solution enables data transmission at gigabit speeds and a simultaneous power supply by only one wire pair. In addition, the technology group will be highlighting the Mini PushPull ix Industrial as a resource- and space-saving Ethernet interface. Our “Mini” is perfect for scenarios in smaller devices and field level applications.