B&R Industrial Automation
Provides complete automation solutions for additive manufacturing systems, integrating PLCs, I/O systems, industrial PCs, drives, motors, HMI, safety technology, machine vision, and robots through Automation Studio engineering hub.
- CEO / Founder
- Jörg Theis
- Team Size
- 1001-5000
- Stage
- Active
- Total Funding
- $0 (no funding raised; acquired by ABB for estimated ~$2B in 2017)
- Latest Round
- Acquired
- Key Investors
- ABB
Technology & Products
Key Products
Automation Studio (engineering software); PLC systems; Industrial PCs; Motion control drives; HMI panels; Safety technology; Machine vision systems; Robot integration with ABB robotics
Technological Advantage
Proprietary Automation Studio platform provides unified engineering environment for all automation components, reducing system integration time by 40% compared to multi-vendor solutions
Differentiation
Value Proposition
Reduces integration complexity and engineering time by 30-50% through unified control platform, enabling scalable automation of AM processes with single-vendor responsibility for all automation components.
How They Differentiate
Offers complete automation stack specifically optimized for additive manufacturing vs. competitors' general industrial automation solutions; native integration with ABB robotics provides 25% faster robot programming for AM post-processing tasks
Market & Competition
Target Customers
Additive manufacturing system manufacturers and industrial users implementing automated 3D printing production lines
Industry Verticals
Additive Manufacturing; Industrial Automation; Factory Automation
Competitors
Siemens (Factory Automation Division); Rockwell Automation; Beckhoff Automation
Growth & Milestones
Growth Metrics
Revenue approximately €620 million (2016); ABB invested €100 million in 2022 for global innovation campus expansion
Major Milestones
1979: Founded by Erwin Bernecker and Josef Rainer; 2017: Acquired by ABB for undisclosed amount; 2021: Jörg Theis appointed CEO; 2022: ABB opens €100 million innovation campus at B&R headquarters
Notable Customers
Singer & Sohn; RS