HISTORY...The Company was founded in 1947 by Hans Lenze, when he took over a trading Company by the name of Stahlkontor GmBH Weser. This Company was based in the German town of Hamelin.

Initially, the Company manufactured a range of products under licence but, very soon, the enterprising Hans Lenze initiated a number of in-house developments which necessitated the building up of a dedicated sales network by 1949. The next decade saw the addition of new products to the Lenz portfolio, and also the expansion of the Company’s manufacturing capacity.

Hans Lenze passed away in 1963 at the age of 73, to be succeeded by his son-in-law, Alfred Belling. The Founder, however, left a lingering legacy, which can be seen in the way the Company is structured and managed today, and also in the organizational culture the Group as a whole espouses.

The ‘60s were exciting times in the history of Lenz, as it enjoyed exponential growth, which saw it start to expand globally, marketing a portfolio of products which now included Electronic Drive Controllers. From this point, Lenz gained access to the world of electronics in the form of Semiconductors, via a joint venture operating in Japan and South East Asia. The first Frequency Inverter for controlling three-phase AC Motors was marketed in 1977.

Microprocessors were fitted to Frequency Inverters for the first time in the 1980s, which took the Company into the world of miniaturization. At this time also, the development of Servo Technology got underway at Lenze. The decade before the dawn of the 21st century saw the Company really capitalize on its’ capacity to innovate, when it introduced products utilizing “intelligent drives”. As a result of this development, Lenz began to operate at the cutting edge of technology, where it remains until today.

The first few years of the 21st century have seen the Company develop even further, in terms of size and product range. In order to cope with the expansion and also the complexity of the business, various steps have been taken to restructure the business, in order to improve efficiency.

LENZE AG TODAY...Lenze AG today is a Holding Company, whose Board of Management oversees 38 Member Companies, with a combined reach that encompasses the globe. This Board of Management consists of two Members, Dr. Erhard Tellbuscher and Michael Molleken, who supervise the management of all the Member Companies. They are appointed by a Supervisory Board consisting of six Members, who also help the Board of Management in executing their duties.

All Member Companies are set up as medium-sized businesses and are profit centres in their own right. This structuring allows for a greater degree of autonomy and flexibility, which in turn leads to faster reaction time to changing market conditions.

The Company enjoyed a turnover of 587.3 million Euros for the year ended 30th June 2007, whilst employing 3,222 staff, ten per cent of whom are fully involved in research and development activities.

APPLICATIONS…With such a concentration of resources in Research & Development activities, it is no wonder that the Lenze AG family of Companies has developed such an extensive product and services range to service a wide range of applications.

Lenze is a specialist enterprise in the Drive and Automation Technology field, and markets a comprehensive range of components, solutions and services, to satisfy the needs of their customers. Their Drive and Automation technologies are used in a wide variety of industries. Amongst these are materials’ handling, the robotics sector, packaging, industrial handling and automotive manufacturing. Automation solutions come with integrated software, system engineering and a superior global customer service network. These elements combined with quality products, enables Lenze to improve the productivity of its’ clients.

L-FORCE : Your Future Is Our Drive……In line with the escalating complexity of applications and processes, Lenze has developed L-force, the all-in-one solution to the markets’ needs. L-force consists of an innovative family of drive and automation products covering all areas of the relevant technology. The customer thus enjoys a comprehensive range of solutions, which are constantly evolving as product and process innovations are being introduced via the R & D efforts of the staff of Lenze. L-force is driven by INNOVATION, FLEXIBILITY, USEABILITY and COMPATIBILITY. A key application of the L-force concept is Remote Maintenance, and Lenze AG is a leader in this field.

PRODUCTS, SYSTEMS & SERVICES…Lenze has developed Safety Engineering systems to cater for safety in the workplace, especially at the human-machine interface. With a core competency of the Company being drive-based solutions, Lenze systems feature drive-based safety.

As for Controls, Lenze offers PC-based, Controller-based or Drive-based solutions. The programming for each of these is done using IEC 61131-3 compliant languages. PC-based solutions utilize the real-time operating system Windows CE. The Drive PLC is a Controller-based solution. It is a compact control system which enables easy integration of Frequency Inverters. ETCxC and ETCHM are products which complete the portfolio of controls with their dynamic motion control system combined with CNC functionality (6D). To create complex Drive-based systems efficiently, freely programmable, intelligent servo controllers are the key to using modular machine concepts. The 9300 Servo PLC is a Servo Inverter with a powerful integrated PLC.

Industrial PCs are the backbone of the industrial automation world today. Lenze offers global solutions to go with the use of Industrial PCs. These include the use of robust IP65 operating panels, thin client solutions and PC-based automation systems.

Engineering Software products for every phase of a project are available in the form of Lenze Engineering Software. The new L-force Engineer product will take you from planning right through to production. Professional visualizations for IPCs can be achieved through VisiWinNet®.

Lenze’s Operating & Monitoring products address the increasing complexities of the man-machine interface. HMI devices and software products from the Company, ensure operatives can operate machines and systems in a safe, efficient and controlled manner.

In the field of Industrial Communication, Fieldbuses are used to optimize the interplay between machines within an overall system, whilst Lenze’s Servo Drive Systems are highly, accurate, responsive and flexible. Combined with Drive Controllers, the packages offered provide solutions for a wide variety of applications.

The full range of Frequency Inverters are available in Lenze’s product portfolio. They provide efficient solutions for the power range between 0.25 and 400kW. The latest member in this family of products are the L-force 8400 drives. Motor Starters, Frequency Inverters, and Motor Control Gear provide the basis for Decentralised Drive Technology solutions.

Lenze markets a comprehensive range of Motors which are highly dynamic, compact, reliable and scaleable, with high overload capacity. Included in this range are Servo Motors, Standard Asynchronous Motors and DC Motors. Driven by the demand for machines and systems which can deliver improved productivity, flexibility and safety, the Company markets a range of high performance Gearboxes and Geared Motors with scaleable functions.

The Company has the capacity for taking a project in electrical factory automation and drive technology, from concept to operations, training and trouble-shooting, through its’ comprehensive package of Systems Engineering. No problem, big or small, is beyond the capabilities of the Lenze Group as a whole.

LENZE IN MALAYSIA…The Company’s interests in South East Asia are represented by LENZE S.E.A. SDN. BHD which opened for business in Malaysia in March, 2005. Operating from a factory located in Sunway Damansara Technology Park, the local organization is helmed by Mr. Michael Boeker, the Managing Director. He leads a team of eight personnel, which carries out functions such as providing after-sales services to the Company’s clients, liaising with systems integrators, local assembly of Lenze products, providing consultancy services and trouble-shooting.
At an informal meeting, he told IA News that he had not experienced many government-linked problems whilst operating within his designated catchment area. This was primarily because Lenze mostly worked with local partners.

He was happy with the lower costs, language capabilities, greater flexibility and quality of the local labour force, although he expressed misgivings about the overall insufficiency insofar as their numbers were concerned.

As the Company was focused on improving the productivity of its’ clients, even in adverse economic conditions, there would be demand for Lenze’s products and services. On the economy in general, and in contrast to most commentators, Michael felt that it was getting better.

The Managing Director of the local Lenze AG subsidiary was not intimidated by market competitors stealing a march on them technologically-speaking. He felt that compared to the bigger players, Lenze had an advantage in that it was more reactive to changing circumstances owing to the substantial resources allocated to research and development. Furthermore, the Company was very strong on offering personalized engineering services to its’ valued customers.

When asked if he had any general comments to make, Michael stated that local players should consider focusing more on total costs as opposed to just procurements costs alone. He also preferred to see a greater emphasis on quality, which in turn would lead to an enhanced level of exports for local products to the more developed economies.

IN CONCLUSION…LENZE AG is certainly a Company with a good future. It’s structure, resource allocation priorities, and superior human resources, gives it a good chance to develop and prosper in the future.

Courtesy of IA-Community