INTERVIEW WITH WEIDMÜLLER GTI SOFTWARE

Weidmüller GTI Software GmbH is one of the pioneers of PC-based HMI/SCADA systems and visualization solutions, software-neutral HMI concepts for mechanical and plant engineering and control systems for the process industry. The company is continuously expanding the areas of software development, support and engineering. Today more than 500 different customers stand for the quality and performance of the software solutions. The arbitrarily scalable services in the competence areas training, application development, usability concepts and individual software development give our customers exactly the support they need.

Easy Engineering: what are the main areas of activity of the company?

Weidmüller GTI Software: During the founding period, the focus was on the development of technical software for industry, especially on services for customers. Our first big innovation was a PC-based visualization software, which was not common at that time. Already in 1988, the company presented the first prototype of a simple HMI solution at the Hanover Fair.

In the meantime, Weidmüller GTI Software GmbH works in numerous, diverse industries: For example, in intralogistics, in the plastics and packaging industry, in the food and beverage sector or as a component manufacturer.

E.E: What news about new products is there for 2021?

Weidmüller GTI Software: In 2021 our Automated Machine Learning Tool (AutoML Tool) will be integrated into our energy management system ResMa® at the machine data acquisition level. The energy management system ResMa® helps to collect and monitor energy flows and process data as well as to evaluate and optimize efficiency. The generation of meaningful EnPIs (KPIs) including production parameters and their monitoring via energy monitor is the basis for the reduction of daily monitoring expenses. In 2021 we will also be launching a new generation of our PROCON-WEB software as an embedded version. The software tool PROCON-WEB is a visualization solution from us whose dynamic user interfaces can be individually parameterized and configured without any programming knowledge. The user can implement data acquisition from machines with the display of operating statuses via browser, e.g. on mobile devices, and transfer to the cloud by simple project planning.

E.E: What does the product range include?

Weidmüller GTI Software: The main focus of our product range is the HMI/SCDA solution PROCON-WEB in different versions and the modern web-based energy management system ResMa®. Of course, this also includes extensive consulting and analysis by our usability specialists.

As the software systems are highly modularized, there is a special possibility to integrate individual special solutions into the standard software. In this way, Weidmüller GTI creates a solution that is individually tailored to customer requirements, combined with the advantages of a product that has matured over many years. In addition, the experienced Weidmüller GTI team also supports its customers in the implementation of HMI projects.

E.E: At what stage is the market in which you are currently active?

Weidmüller GTI Software: The classic automation environment relies on established systems. As far as digitization and the use of software are concerned, the market is currently developing. Many users are now aware of how machine data is read out, but most have not yet discovered the added value. However, the data will only provide concrete benefits when the information collected is logically linked and analyzed. With the integration of our AutoML tool into the ResMa software, Weidmüller GTI supports exactly this trend.

E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?

Weidmüller GTI Software: As far as visualization technology is concerned, it is likely that more and more people will work with html5/javascript. And the Embedded/Linux community will continue to grow. Windows, on the other hand, will probably lose market share. A major topic is also artificial intelligence: it is becoming more and more tangible than just a few years ago and is being made available to a broader user group. As a result, it will be used more and more in the future – in very different areas.

E.E: What are the most innovative products being marketed?

Weidmüller GTI Software: The Weidmüller Industrial AutoML software tool is certainly one of the most innovative products. Its integration into the energy management system ResMa® offers the user completely new possibilities. Also, the web visualization “PROCON-WEB” in the new version “embedded systems” offers numerous innovations. The success of our PROCON products is reflected in the figures: More than 30,000 PROCON-WIN/PROCON-WEB licenses are in use worldwide.

E.E: What estimates do you have for 2021?

Weidmüller GTI Software: We faced enormous challenges in 2020, but we are confident that we will overcome them and are slightly optimistic about the coming year.  It will certainly take time for the market to stabilize completely again. So, 2021 will certainly still be a challenging time, but we are confident that the economy will pick up speed again in 2021.