DGAP-News: First Sensor AG: Industrial process control remains a focus of First Sensor

Industrial process control remains a focus of First Sensor
Technology company generates EUR32.7 million with sensors for Industry 4.0 in 2017.

Starting today, companies from all around the world are meeting in Hanover to present their innovations for industry. The focus here is on the increasing automation of processes, work steps and entire production sequences. The digital association Bitkom has calculated that sales with Industry 4.0 solutions will grow by more than a fifth to EUR7.2 billion in Germany alone in 2018. This field of application is a key focus for First Sensor, too: In 2017 the company generated EUR32.7 million with standard products and customer-specific sensor solutions for industrial process control. This is therefore the most important application area in the Industrial target market, in which First Sensor generated sales totaling EUR75.1 million in the past fiscal year.

"Sensors play a key role in smart factories: Their data form the basis for the growing digitalization of industrial processes. In this context, we are observing an increase in the importance of optical sensors. The light radar Lidar is not only a trend technology when it comes to the introduction of piloted driving, but has also been at home in industry for many years already. In addition to traditional length measurement, new applications such as the control of collaborating robots, autonomous transport systems and logistics drones are currently emerging," explains Dr. Dirk Rothweiler, CEO of First Sensor AG, who is using the Hannover Messe trade show to hold conversations with key customers. First Sensor is one of the leading producers of avalanche photodiodes. The detectors identify invisible flashes of light with which the Lidar scanner puts together a 360˚ picture of the surrounding area.

In addition to optical sensors, pressure sensor technology is still a key element for the control of industrial processes. "As well as Germany, growing demand can be seen in Asia in particular," says Dr. Rothweiler. For example, since 2012 First Sensor has been supplying a Chinese industrial company with pressure sensor components for high-precision process transmitters. These are used in the chemicals industry and other sectors to regulate flow rates in pipelines and replace manual control with mechanical units or valves. Since this collaboration began, the company has increased its demand by an average of around 10% per year. There are also plans to develop a customer-specific solution for a new generation of process transmitters that allow for an even more precise measuring quality.

About First Sensor AG
In the growth market of sensor systems, First Sensor develops and produces standard products and customer-specific solutions for the ever-increasing number of applications in the industrial, medical, and mobility target markets. Based on innovative technology platforms, we develop products such as chips, components, sensors, and entire sensor systems. Trends such as Industry 4.0, autonomous driving, and the miniaturization of medical technology will drive our growth extremely rapidly in the future. First Sensor was founded in Berlin in 1991 and has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (SIS) since 1999 [Prime Standard Ι WKN: 720190 Ι ISIN: DE0007201907 Ι SIS]. For more details on First Sensor, please visit www.first-sensor.com.

Disclaimer
Statements in this Corporate News relating to future developments are based on a prudent estimate of future events. Actual events may deviate from planned events, as they depend on a large number of market and economic factors, some of which are outside of the company's control.

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