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 è un attore globale e un'azienda indipendente a conduzione familiare con sede a Esslingen am Neckar, in Germania. Fin dagli inizi Festo ha stabilito degli standard nella tecnologia dell'automazione industriale e nella formazione tecnica, contribuendo così allo sviluppo sostenibile dell'ambiente, dell'economia e della società. Prodotti e servizi sono disponibili in 176 paesi del mondo. L'azienda, infatti, fornisce tecnologia di automazione pneumatica ed elettrica a 300.000 clienti di automazione di fabbrica e di processo in oltre 35 industrie. Il settore LifeTech con la tecnologia medica e l'automazione di laboratorio sta diventando sempre più importante. Con circa 20.600 dipendenti in oltre 250 filiali in circa 60 paesi in tutto il mondo, Festo ha realizzato un fatturato di circa 3,45 miliardi di euro nel 2024. Ogni anno oltre l'8% di questo fatturato viene investito in ricerca e sviluppo, mentre l'1,5 % del fatturato è investito nella formazione di base e di perfezionamento. Festo Didactic SE è un fornitore leader di formazione e formazione tecnica e offre ai suoi clienti in tutto il mondo soluzioni complete di apprendimento digitale e fisico in ambiente industriale.

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.

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Gerhard Borho at PLCnext Community Summit

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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.

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Controller Edge CEPE

CEPE: Primo Controller Edge di Festo nel portfoglio di automazione Festo AX Controls, basato sulla tecnologia PLCnext.

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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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