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.

 

费斯托 (Festo)是一家全球性的独立的家族企业,总部位于德国埃斯林根。自成立以来,Festo在工业自动化技术和技术教育方面制定标准,从而为环境、经济和社会的可持续发展做出贡献。公司为超过35个行业的30万家工厂和过程自动化客户提供气动和电驱动自动化技术解决方案,其中生命科学和实验室自动化业务受到越来越多的关注。Festo产品和服务遍布176个国家。2024年,费斯托在全球61个国家的250多个分支机构拥有约20600名员工,实现销售额34.5亿欧元。每年约8%的销售额用于研发。在这家学习型企业,1.5%的销售额用于基础和进一步培训。Festo 教学培训 (Didactic SE) 是全球领先的技术教育和培训供应商,为全球客户提供工业环境中全面的数字化和常规学习解决方案。

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...