New positioning, communication and retrofit products for mobile industrial applications
Paul Vahle GmbH & Co. KG will use SPS – Smart Production Solutions 2026, held in Nuremberg from 24 to 26 November, to present a broader approach to mobile industrial applications. Under the motto “Keep Industry in Motion”, the Kamen-based system supplier combines energy transmission, data communication, positioning and control into one coordinated system. Visitors to Stand 336 in Hall 4 can see how this reduces plant complexity and keeps installations ready for future requirements. The stand also covers retrofit, monitoring and long-term support for existing plants.
According to Andre Adolph, Director Business Unit Automotive at the VAHLE Group, mobile industrial applications now demand far more than power transmission alone. In his view, a competitive edge comes from the way the right technologies work together rather than from individual components, and that is what the company’s 360-degree portfolio is meant to demonstrate at the show.
The solutions on display are already used in automotive production and intralogistics, for example in electrified monorail systems (EMS), skid conveyors, automated storage systems and cranes. The emphasis is less on any single product and more on how a plant can adapt to changing requirements and run reliably for many years.
“Generate The Perfect Fit”
This idea is the centrepiece of the stand: energy, data, positioning and control supplied as one matched package from a single source. Adolph says this lowers plant complexity, makes it easier to integrate new technologies and gives a more consistent system architecture with less effort at the interfaces.
New products for positioning, communication and energy
- APOS Optic 2.0. The new generation of VAHLE’s optical positioning system offers higher performance in a more compact housing and is easier to integrate with the company’s power supply, positioning and control products.
- SMG 2.0. The new generation of the slotted waveguide is designed around investment protection, scalability, security and support for current communication standards. Adolph stresses that IT security has to be built into a technology from the start, not added afterwards.
- PowerNET. This solution adds a communication function to the crane conductor rail, turning it into an automation system that carries both power and data in one application.
Availability across the whole life cycle
As automation levels rise, plant availability matters more: downtime costs more, modernisation cycles get shorter and maintenance becomes more demanding. VAHLE will show how its services are moving from pure maintenance towards an active contribution to plant performance. The offer ranges from retrofit and condition monitoring to predictive maintenance, lifecycle services and digital services. Adolph notes that investing in a retrofit extends the service life of a plant and also buys time to plan the next modernisation step calmly.
One example is the new IC-PCM module. It uses pulse code modulation (PCM), a method of converting analogue signals into digital data, to make the modernisation of existing control systems economically viable. Combining stationary and mobile control supports customers on their way to digitalisation and helps raise plant availability.
VAHLE can be found at SPS 2026 in Hall 4, Stand 336. Meetings with the company’s specialists can be booked in advance through its website, and it is offering free trade fair tickets to visitors who do so.