On March 27, 1990, the first General Meeting of the PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V. (PNO) took place at which organizational matters were discussed and work began on establishing key committees and working groups. Back then, probably no one could imagine what was started. 25 years later, the organization is not only a global community under the roof of PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI). It has established itself as a driving force for communication in industrial automation systems.
The past 25
years in the community were a mix of professional exchange, hours of hard work, and highly contentious discussions -but always with a spirit of cooperation. Everyone was consistently united behind the goal of successfully automating all industrial applications. Over and over again, the PNO set the course for new developments. For example, PROFIsafe impressively demonstrated how PI changed the way industrial automation is done. Sending safety signals over the network is commonly accepted today and the basis for a close cooperation of workers and robots on the shop floor. The result: tremendous productivity gains for the end user.
Several leading companies of the ZVEI, the German electrical and electronic manufacturers’ association, were instrumental in founding the PNO. Michael Ziesemer, President of the ZVEI and Chief Operating Officer at Endress+Hauser, summarized the reasons as follows: “What 25 years of participation in the success of PROFIBUS means to me is being at the forefront of technical advancement for 25 years. PROFIBUS stands for openness of the system world. The standardized bus is the basis of a business opportunity for anyone. We can learn a lot from this in order to meet the challenges of the future: Industry 4.0 and digitalization of value creation. ”
This is why we call it “the PROFINET of Things”. PROFINET is the only standard that combines the strict real-time requirements of high-performance machines with the necessary openness for IP communication.
In our anniversary year, Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things are hot topics. They will have a deep impact on industrial communication for sure. But the way we developed our technology, we have a significant advantage in the years to come. First of all, with 50 million PROFIBUS nodes and 10 million PROFINET nodes we are the market leader among the industrial protocols and provide a strong basis for the future. If the IIoT is about connectivity and information, we provide the data through our networks. But there’s more to it than that! Delivering data is just half the battle. Every other network can claim this. The strength of PROFINET is that we deliver the infrastructure as well. PROFINET is 100% Ethernet. Additional IIoT protocols like OPC can use our network and forward valuable information to drive new business models. This is why we call it “the PROFINET of Things”. PROFINET is the only standard that combines the strict real-time requirements of high-performance machines with the necessary openness for IP communication.
On April 13th, Hanover Fair opens its doors again. At our booth we will showcase the latest and greatest of our technologies: PROFIBUS, PROFINET, and IO-Link. It’s the place to see lots of new products, have a chat with our members, or to enter deep discussions with the technical experts from our working groups. Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things will be key topics there as well. If you want to learn more about the PROFINET of Things, please feel free to stop by our booth in Hall 9.
Looking forward to seeing you and having a chat,
Karsten Schneider
Chairman, PROFIBUS & PROFINET International