2025/10/01
ID: 5077

Summit strengthens community and innovative spirit in the PLCnext Technology Ecosystem

PLCnext Community Summit at Festo: Exchange of successful use cases spurs on new ideas

After the successful conclusion of the PLCnext Community Summit, which took place this year from 30 September to 1 October at the automation specialist Festo in Esslingen, the organisers draw a thoroughly positive conclusion. Phoenix Contact, Festo and Yaskawa had invited to this event. The summit gathered developers, partner companies and technology enthusiasts. In an open and lively atmosphere, around 90 participants came together to make innovations visible, set new impulses for industrial automation and jointly shape the future of open, networked automation solutions.

The Community Summit focused on technological innovations and practical insights. The participants received up-to-date information on new features in the PLCnext Store and Release 25.0, discussed the effects of the Cyber Resilience Act on industrial applications and exchanged views on integration solutions with technologies from Festo and Yaskawa.

 

Partnership accelerates innovation cycles

"Our growing partnership with Phoenix Contact and PLCnext Technology enables us to accelerate innovation cycles. As a manufacturer of automation technology, we have enormous innovation potential, especially when it comes to software: It allows our customers to integrate different automation components faster and easier as well as to commission and program machines and systems more quickly. The open architecture of PLCnext Technology is exactly the right basis for such innovations," explained Gerhard Borho, Member of the Management Board Information Technology and Digitalisation at Festo.

 

Festo is currently launching one of these innovations on the market: the CEPE Edge Controller. It is based on the open operating system PLCnext Technology and goes beyond the limits of a traditional PLC: CEPE enables flexible app integration, seamless interoperability with third-party components and secure cloud connectivity.

 

Exchange at Mini-Expo and in the Open Space

A special highlight was the Mini-Expo: community members presented their innovative devices, apps and services. The direct exchange with developers and sales teams enabled a lively dialogue in which ideas, feedback and visions took centre stage.

 

In the concluding Open Space, the most important findings of the event were summarized and concrete ways were shown how each individual can actively shape the ecosystem. With a clear commitment to openness and collaborative progress, the entire community was invited to continue to get involved and play a key role in shaping development.

 

Empowering the community

The feedback from the participants and the topics discussed make it clear that the PLCnext Community Summit was not only a successful event, but also a decisive step towards further strengthening the community spirit and the willingness to innovate in the PLCnext Technology Ecosystem.

 

Festo es un actor global y una empresa familiar independiente con sede en Esslingen am Neckar (Alemania). Desde sus inicios, Festo ha marcado pautas en la tecnología de automatización industrial y en la formación técnica, contribuyendo así al desarrollo sostenible del medio ambiente, la economía y la sociedad. La empresa suministra tecnología de automatización neumática y eléctrica a 300.000 clientes de automatización de fábricas y procesos en más de 35 sectores. El sector LifeTech, con la tecnología médica y la automatización de laboratorios, es cada vez más importante. Los productos y servicios están disponibles en 176 países de todo el mundo. En todo el mundo, unos 20.600 empleados en cerca de 60 países con más de 250 sucursales generaron unas ventas de aproximadamente 3.450 millones de euros en 2024. De esta cantidad, más del 8% se invierte anualmente en investigación y desarrollo. En la empresa de aprendizaje, las medidas de formación y desarrollo representan el 1,5% de la facturación. Festo Didactic SE es un proveedor líder de educación y formación técnica y ofrece a sus clientes de todo el mundo soluciones integrales de aprendizaje digital y físico en el entorno industrial.

PLCnext audience
© Festo SE & Co. KG
PLCnext Community Summit
Phoenix Contact, Festo and Yaskawa had invited to the PLCnext Community Summit. The summit brought together developers, partner companies and technology enthusiasts.
PLCnext Borho
© Festo SE & Co. KG
Gerhard Borho at PLCnext Community Summit
"Our growing partnership with Phoenix Contact and PLCnext Technology enables us to accelerate innovation cycles. As a manufacturer of automation technology, we have enormous innovation potential, especially when it comes to software," explained...
Discussions at PLCnext Community Event
© Festo SE & Co. KG
Discussions of experts at the PLCnext Community Summit
In an open and lively atmosphere, around 90 participants came together at the PLCnext Community Summit to make innovations visible, set new impulses for industrial automation and jointly shape the future of open, networked automation solutions.
CEPE
© Festo SE & Co. KG
Edge Controller CEPE
CEPE: First Edge Controller from Festo on the automation portfolio Festo AX Controls, based on PLCnext Technology
PLCnext Community Summit group
© Festo SE & Co. KG
PLCnext Communit Summit participants
After the successful conclusion of the PLCnext Community Summit, which took place this year from 30 September to 1 October at the automation specialist Festo in Esslingen, the organisers Phoenix Contact, Yaskawa and Festo draw a thoroughly...

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