SICK and Endress+Hauser sign strategic partnership

German sensor company SICK and Endress+Hauser have announced they have agreed on a strategic partnership.

SICK and Endress+Hauser signed a joint memorandum of understanding for a strategic partnership in October 2023. Since then, the project has been examined and plans for implementing the cooperation have been drawn up. Following approval by the respective supervisory bodies, representatives of both companies have now signed a corresponding agreement. The closing of the transaction is planned for the turn of the year 2024/2025 and is subject to approval by antitrust authorities.

Endress+Hauser will take over sales and service for process analysis and gas flow measurement technology from SICK. Around 800 specialised sales and service employees in 42 countries will transfer from SICK to Endress+Hauser. The company says its customers will benefit by receiving more products from a single source. The global Endress+Hauser sales network will enable additional customers to be acquired, more industries to be reached and new applications to be developed.

From 2025, the production and further development of process analysers and gas flowmeters will be the responsibility of a joint venture in which each partner will hold a 50% stake. It will employ about 730 people at several locations in Germany. The joint venture will work closely with Endress+Hauser’s competence centres to drive product innovations forward efficiently.

The two companies say their offerings in process technology complement each other perfectly. SICK’s products are currently used in particular in waste incineration plants, power, steel and cement plants, in the oil and gas industry, in chemical and petrochemical plants and in shipbuilding — for example for analysing emissions in flue gas cleaning or for measuring the flow of natural gas and hydrogen.

“This strategic partnership opens up opportunities for growth and development for SICK and Endress+Hauser. We are taking this path because by collaborating and networking we can achieve more together in a reasonable amount of time than either side could on its own — all this for the benefit of our customers, employees and both companies,” said Dr Peter Selders, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group.

“Our aspiration is to drive the sustainable transformation of the process industry and to support our customers in leveraging the opportunities presented by decarbonisation,” said Dr Mats Gökstorp, Chairman of the Executive Board at SICK AG. “That is why SICK and Endress+Hauser are combining their technological and market expertise. In the interest of our customers and employees, we look forward to the strategic partnership and to shape the future of process automation together.”

SICK said its core business of factory and logistics automation, which accounts for more than 80% of sales, will not be affected by the partnership. With 60 subsidiaries and shareholdings as well as numerous agencies, the company has over 12,000 employees worldwide and generated consolidated sales of €2.3 billion in the 2023 financial year.

Image: Dr Mats Gökstorp (left), chairman of the executive board at SICK AG, and Dr Peter Selders, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group.