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Solcon News

FROM ENGINEERING OFFICE TO LEADING INDUSTRIAL IT MANUFACTURER

BOWE GROUP Acquires Majority Stake in Solcon Systemtechnik GmbH

The BOWE GROUP, a leading provider of integrated automation technology headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, has acquired a majority stake in Solcon Systemtechnik GmbH, Lübeck. With this move, the BOWE GROUP expands its portfolio, particularly with high-performance electronic tracking (RTLS) and RFID solutions, which are increasingly in demand in intralogistics and numerous other industries.

Innovative RTLS, RFID, and other electronic 1 tracking technologies are gaining increasing importance as core technologies for localization solutions (track & trace) for use in the IoT to track assets and products across various industries. The demand for cost-effective and highly precise RTLS and GPS solutions is rapidly increasing as various products, such as anti-collision systems, based on these technologies enter the market. The development and practical implementation of such solutions is now the main business of Solcon Systemtechnik GmbH, which is known for its high innovation and technological leadership in this area. Founded in 1992, the company has also made a name for itself as a manufacturer of customized industrial PCs for use in particularly harsh or sensitive environments and 2 of mobile computer workstations with a wide range of variations.

Through the acquisition of a stake in Solcon, which was completed in mid-April 2023, the BOWE GROUP has gained access to an attractive portfolio of advanced trend technologies.

ATTRACTIVE PORTFOLIO EXPANSION

Solcon’s developments strengthen the automation expertise of the BOWE GROUP. They perfectly complement the solutions offered by the BOWE business units BOWE IQ and BOWE INTRALOGISTICS in the areas of auto-ID, track & trace, and asset tracking and asset management.

In addition to RFID products, the focus is on Solcon’s tracking solutions. For example, a TDoA (Time Difference of Arrival) method developed by the company based on radio wave propagation time measurement enables very fast and precise indoor tracking. This technology allows a large number of moving objects to be located simultaneously in real time. In this area, Solcon has extensive experience with customer projects, some of which involve the simultaneous tracking and monitoring of several hundred industrial trucks. In addition to intralogistics and industrial manufacturing processes, the tracking of vehicle fleets in public transport is one of the growing application areas for Solcon’s tracking technology.

ENORMOUS SYNERGY POTENTIAL

“With this new investment, we are expanding our portfolio with market-leading solution components that complement and enhance the offerings of BOWE IQ and BOWE INTRALOGISTICS. In addition, Solcon’s technologies have the potential to enhance the software solutions of our investment company MOV.AI for mobile autonomous robots and make them more powerful with Solcon’s anti-collision system,” says Joachim Koschier, CEO of the BOWE GROUP. “Overall, we are further expanding the value chain of the BOWE GROUP with this step. The commitment to Solcon is entirely in line with our long-term strategy to become the single point of contact for customers in the markets we serve.”

The two Solcon managing directors, Gunnar Tons, who joined the company on January 1, 2024, and Georg Frischmuth, who has been with the company since 2015 and remains a shareholder, add: “With the BOWE GROUP, we have gained a strong partner who will help us expand our presence in the international arena by having our new majority shareholder support the sales, installation, and service of our solutions in local markets. In addition, the BOWE GROUP is contributing the necessary resources to significantly expand our team by the end of this year, quickly scale capacities as needed, and successfully realize major international customer projects that we have not been able to cover so far.”

BOWE GROUP
COMPANY PROFILE

The BOWE GROUP is one of the world’s leading providers of intelligent automation and IoT software solutions along the entire in-house value chain – and beyond. For more than 75 years, the BOWE GROUP’s solutions have optimized work and production processes in a wide variety of industries. Always with the aim of providing customers with decisive advantages in their markets through innovative, tailor-made technologies.

Under the umbrella of the BOWE GROUP, three strong divisions offer pioneering automation solutions that are precisely tailored to the specific needs of their target markets: BOWE SYSTEC with efficient solutions for inserting, plastic card mailing, and mail sorting; BOWE INTRALOGISTICS with complete intralogistics solutions for e-commerce, multichannel retail, parcel delivery services, and the manufacturing industry; BOWE IQ with intelligent IoT software solutions for plant control, warehouse management, process optimization, tracking, and cross-functional management of complex, networked automation scenarios.

Founded in 1945 and headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, the company has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of the broadly diversified, financially strong Possehl Group, based in Lübeck, Germany, since 2010. With nearly 1,000 employees, around 20 subsidiaries, and over 50 general representatives worldwide, the BOWE GROUP ensures responsive local consulting, sales, and service support for customers around the globe. Further information can be found at www.bowe.com and www.possehl.de.

About Solcon Systemtechnik GmbH:

Solcon Systemtechnik GmbH is a medium-sized company based in Lübeck, Germany, specializing in the manufacture of industrial hardware (industrial PCs, industrial monitors, radio scanners, mobile workstations, camera systems, access systems, special machines, etc.). Our products are designed for harsh environmental conditions and are optimized to customer specifications. Another focus is the development of solutions for tracking, e.g., goods, load carriers, industrial vehicles, assets, etc., particularly in industrial and logistics environments. In addition to GPS, we use less well-known technologies that enable not only outdoor tracking but also seamless indoor-to-outdoor tracking (Seamless Positioning). These include, for example, LPS (Local Positioning System) or RTLS. Our customers include well-known companies from the medical technology, logistics, food, ports, airports, and large system integrators, etc.