Digitalization improves a factory’s competitiveness.

Digital Enterprise doesn’t mean having to redo everything or build a new plant. The Siemens Electric Motor Factory in Bad Neustadt shows how step-by-step digitalization of an existing plant boosts competitiveness. This can be experienced live in the Arena of Digitalization.

Digital transformation with people and technology

The electric motor factory in Bad Neustadt is the lead factory for the production of synchronous, main, and asynchronous motors.

The transformation into a Digital Enterprise was implemented to better meet customer requirements: short and reliable delivery times, greater flexibility, and more sustainable production. This has only been possible through digital transformation – with the help of purposefully deployed technology, on the one hand, and by training employees and integrating them closely into the new processes, on the other.

Productivity up, emissions down

Be inspired by the measurable success of the Electronics Factory Erlangen.

-40% Shorter time to market

The comprehensive Digital Twin, IT/OT convergence, data analytics and Industrial AI are crucial for the factory to bring its products to customers around the world faster.

+60% Higher quality

The Electronics Factory has developed AI applications and implemented them on the shop floor. This enabled to improve process and product quality while also boosting efficiency.

+50% Higher production output

IT/OT convergence is the foundation of comprehensive data use to optimize production. Analyzing production data leads to new insights that help increase the productivity of machines and lines.

People as the drivers of digitalization

The digital transformation of the Bad Neustadt plant is based on use cases that were primarily driven by the production staff. Their expertise ensures that the relevant data from the machines can be captured, understood, and evaluated.Accordingly, vertical integration does not only take place on a technical level, with data flowing from the shop floor to the top floor. Rather, those involved in production and management work closely together and share their knowledge so that everyone involved can work with consistent data and make the right decisions.

d4f5567f-25c7-427b-98db-70933a3f062a-Bad-Neustadt-Office-W0A0151-1280x720

e786f1f6-ed05-467f-9878-ae96817bbbda-Bad-Neustadt-Office-W0A9902-1280x720

Integration of old machines into a digital environment

To establish the necessary connectivity of the machines, the plant took advantage of the machine operators' vast experience. No matter how old a machine was, it could be integrated into the ecosystem to make its data available throughout the company. This was made possible by the combination of many years of expertise, integrated automation hardware from the Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) portfolio, and flexible software for visualization and analysis.In companies that lack this expertise, Siemens Connectivity Services experts can make your old machines fit for digitalization. Becoming a Digital Enterprise doesn't mean replacing all equipment but continuing to use what has stood the test of time.

We have significantly increased our productivity with flexible automation and digitalization. This has ensured our competitiveness.

Peter Zech, Head of Innovation and Digitalization, Siemens electric motor factory Bad Neustadt

Related resources

Energy efficiency cuts costs and boosts sustainability

The plant combines energy sensor and machine data to identify optimization potential. It also leverages its own efficient products, such as IE4-class motors, to further reduce overall energy consumption.

IT/OT integration adds value through data refinement

Thanks to IT/OT integration, sensor and controller data can be collected and analyzed. IT processes refine these data to create value, improving sustainability, process control, and plant availability.

Condition monitoring increases plant availability

High plant complexity due to extensive machinery can challenge on-time delivery. Condition monitoring (digital maintenance) boosts availability and reduces maintenance costs by analyzing wear indicators and enabling early action.

Maximum flexibility for 35,000 motor variants

The production of 35,000 new variants each year demands high flexibility.The Digital Twin simplifies planning, enables virtual commissioning, reduces machine changeover from days to hours, and commissioning from months to weeks.

High quality without sacrificing speed & flexibility

Quality always comes first: Industrial Edge uses AI (an Edge app) to analyze high‑frequency machine data and detect anomalies—without impacting speed or flexibility.

Collaboration with partners across company boundaries

Collaboration within partners in an ecosystem is key for a Digital Enterprise: Employees in Bad Neustadt work closely with internal and external developers, while partnerships with universities expand data-driven opportunities.