Astonishing Companies in Robotics 2019

Interview with Insights Success
In an interview with Insights Success Thomas
Lichtenberger, the CEO of Festo Didactic Inc.
introduces us to his organization, which is one of the
first automation companies to collaborate with U.S. high
schools, colleges and universities in order to better prepare
students for emerging careers in technology and design
engineering.
Festo provides industrial and education partners with the
support they need through post-secondary apprenticeship
programs, blended STEM curriculum, state-of-the-art
engineering systems and lab equipment that resemble real
Smart Factories, and through sponsored vocational
competitions and summer camps.
Below are the highlights of the interview between Thomas
and Insights Success:
What is your definition of Festo? And what was the
inspiration that led to the inception of the company?
Festo Didactic is a leading provider of technical education
equipment and training. Our educational solutions evolved
from a world-class automation and engineering division and
integrates the latest trends in each learning system it offers.
The innovative product range allows educators and trainers
to equip their classroom with the technology they need,
from individual workstations to complete Learning
Factories, as well as training and consulting, eLearning,
courseware solutions, and LMS integration.
We have built over 100 years of trust providing high quality
German engineering. Festo is a family-run company that
has grown to become a worldwide supplier in 176
countries, serving 300,000 customers across 35 industries,
including brand name partners and government institutions.
We leverage our expertise in the industrial sector to create
holistic learning environments and workforce development
training for middle school, high school and college
students.
Would you kindly elaborate on your company’s
innovative services, solutions and their benefits to your
customers?
For over 40 years, Festo Didactic has prepared students in
North America for in-demand jobs in a complex industrial
environment. We provide colleges and universities with topof-the-line
simulated Smart Factories to develop the
advanced manufacturing workforce of tomorrow. Ours was
one of the first automation companies to foster
collaboration with North American institutions for Industry
4.0 career readiness.
The Festo Didactic product and service portfolio offers
solutions for rapid learning and retention in the entire
spectrum of automation technologies: pneumatics,
electropneumatics, hydraulics, electrohydraulics,
electronics, electrical engineering, sensors, robotics, CNC
technology, PLC and fieldbus technology, manufacturing
technology, and process engineering as well as
mechatronics.
Festo Didactic products combine theoretical knowledge
with practical experience in automation and technology.
Intuitive and fast learning is achieved through practical
learning systems and learning factories, which makes the
technologies and processes used in industrial production,
immediately tangible and illustrate them in an
understandable way. People in training are able to use these
systems to gather the real, practical experience that they
need to work independently in industry, and quickly
contribute to a company’s productivity.
What is your take on the current landscape of the
Robotics and Automation industry, and what does their
potential hold, in the future?
Introducing advanced manufacturing and robotics programs
into schools at an earlier age is a crucial piece to solving the
STEM skills shortage. Teaching students to work alongside
robots and how to operate them won’t be limited to
industrial environments. It’s hard to imagine jobs in the
future that won't have an element of automation or IoT/IIoT
integration. Our current reality, and future reality, is a
highly digital world where the pace of change and frequent
market disruptions will require workers to be nimble and
learn how to adapt quickly to these changes.
W e at Festo, leverage our
expertise in the industrial sector
to create holistic learning
environments and workforce
development training for
middle school, high school
and college students
|April 2019| 17