The emerging smart conveyance market has brought new opportunities to leading automation solution providers, says Samantha Mou.

Since announcing the decision to separate out its ‘motors and large drives’ businesses in 2022, Siemens’ digital transformation has attracted widespread attention in the industry. Through several spin-offs, acquisitions and partnerships, the company is seeking growth in digitalisation, industrial software and emerging technologies.

In July 2024, Siemens announced a new move – cooperation with SuperTrak Conveyance (part of ATS Automation) to jointly develop a smart conveyance system that is integrated into the Siemens TIA Portal.

Our research shows market demand in this field has grown rapidly in recent years. With application scenarios continuing to expand, sales are expected to increase at a CAGR of more than 15% by 2029.

As automation giants, Siemens and ATS’ partnership in smart conveyance technology is of great strategic significance to both companies.

What is the standing of Siemens and ATS Automation in smart conveyance?

ATS has a long history in this field. In 2001, it developed the world’s first smart conveyance system, SuperTrak CONVEYANCE, which is now a dedicated brand for smart conveyance in the ATS Group. In the Americas, ATS ranks second in market share; while in Europe and the APAC region, SuperTrak CONVEYANCE products are mainly sold through authorised distribution partners.

Siemens also has a smart conveyance product already in its portfolio. The Multi-Carrier-System (MCS), co-developed by Siemens and Festo, was first launched in 2015. It has a payload of 50kg and uses Festo’s motor modules, Siemens’ drives and controllers, and can be connected to the TIA Portal. This product has a strong presence in Europe. In 2023, it ranked fifth in global market share and second in Europe.

What are the strategic considerations behind the cooperation?

The upcoming product was announced as a system “integrated” into TIA Portal. So, with regards to the form cooperation might take, the solution could involve SuperTrak CONVEYANCE motor modules and movers being equipped with Siemens’ drive and control system. The companies stated officially that more developments will be presented in the next few months and at SPS 2024. We look forward to seeing the co-developed products.

Since both companies already have smart conveyance products in their portfolio, we believe that the two parties primarily aim to improve regional presence and create an automation ecosystem through this cooperation.

Currently, sales of ATS Automation’s (excluding rebranding sales through distributors) and Siemens’ smart conveyance systems mainly come from their respective home markets – North America and Europe. However, in each other’s key markets, their shares are minimal.

Therefore, establishing collaborative projects will help the two companies expand their regional presence. ATS is a large machine builder and system integrator in North America, thus SuperTrak CONVEYANCE – and potentially related machines – can provide more opportunities for Siemens’ motion control products in the Americas market. Similarly, ATS will gain a competitive advantage from Siemens’ strong customer base in Europe and is expected to increase sales of its smart conveyance system in the region.

Building an automation ecosystem should be another strategic consideration behind this collaboration.

Siemens is actively working on building an integrated control platform centered on its S7-1500 controller, known as the “Technology CPU”, which is also used in the smart conveyance system “MCS” developed jointly by Siemens and Festo. This controller also integrates robot control function and has collaboration with different robot vendors (see Siemens’ cooperation with robot vendors targets integrated robot control). It is worth noting that in production lines, it is common for smart conveyance systems to cooperate with robots. So if the co-developed product of Siemens and SuperTrak CONVEYANCE also adopts this controller, and is integrated into the TIA Portal, Siemens will add another important partner to its automation solution platform.

For SuperTrak CONVEYANCE, it is a clear benefit to join Siemens’ ecosystem and utilise this to expand partners and potential customers in Europe. The upcoming, co-developed product may differentiate itself from MCS and focus more on small payload industries and applications.

Final thoughts

Siemens acquired a machine vision company earlier this year. So, if the control of machine vision is also integrated into TIA Portal in the future, the platform will cover the most important digitalisation processes along a production line. Beckhoff has also adopted this approach, building a portfolio to unify control of smart conveyance systems, robots, and machine vision.

The emerging smart conveyance market has brought new opportunities to leading automation solution providers. We believe that the cooperation between ATS and Siemens is a smart strategic move that can help boost the business of both parties. Partnerships such as this between leading companies will also create a more dynamic market share landscape for smart conveyance technology.

Data on the smart conveyance market and vendor portfolios are available in our upcoming report, Smart Conveyance 2024, to be published in September 2024:

https://interactanalysis.com/research-products/precision-motion-technologies/?tab=smart-conveyance-technology

Samantha Mou, a Research Analyst based in China, provides support in the Industrial Automation sector. Samantha brings with her a master’s degree in Economics, and has experience, whilst working in Germany, conducting market research in Industrial Equipment and Automobile Components. 

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