Sensors and measurement: ups and downs in sales and incoming orders
AMA Association reports industry development in 2023 and outlook for 2024
In the past year, the sensor and measurement technology sector generated an overall increase in sales of six percent compared to the previous year. In the fourth quarter, AMA members recorded a decline in sales of six percent compared to the previous quarter. Incoming orders fell by three percent in the same period. The industry anticipates slight sales growth of three percent for the current year.
Berlin, March 2024 - In January 2024, the AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement (AMA) surveyed its members on the economic development of the past financial year. AMA members generated a six percent increase in sales compared to the previous year. In the fourth quarter, sales fell by six percent and incoming orders by three percent compared to the previous quarter. However, AMA members are cautiously positive about the 2024 financial year and expect turnover to grow by two percent.
Higher investments planned
AMA members invested one percent more in the past 2023 than in the previous year, but plan to increase investment by thirteen percent in the current year while maintaining the same number of staff. Members are thus focusing on the future viability of the industry, investing in technologies, and underlining the relevance of sensor and measurement technology.
Decline in exports to non-European countries
The export ratio for sensor and measurement technology fell by 17 percentage points to 48% in 2023. It is clear to see that the export ratio to other Central European countries remained stable, while the export ratio outside Europe fell significantly.
Availability of important supplier products
In 2023, the supply bottlenecks for semiconductors and comparable supplier products decreased noticeably for most AMA members. In the January survey, around 20% of members stated that they were still experiencing difficulties with procurement. This suggests that most sensor specialists are now able to cover their requirements again without any problems.
Summarizing statement
"The fourth quarter of 2023 was more difficult than expected for the sensor and measurement technology sector. The decline in sales hit the large members harder than the small and medium-sized companies. This particularly affected the large members that supply the automotive industry," says Thomas Simmons, Managing Director of the AMA Association, summarizing the new statistics. "Our members are cautiously optimistic for the current year 2024 and expect sales growth of two percent. The planned increase in investments of thirteen percent is pleasing, which for me is a clear commitment to the innovative strength and relevance of sensor and measurement technology for the industry."
AMA Innovation Award 2024: Association nominates three teams and awards two special prizes
The AMA Association for Sensors and Measurement nominates three applications for the AMA Innovation Award 2024. Two outstanding development teams receive the special 'Young Company' award.
Berlin, March 2024 - This year, 25 research and development teams from Germany and abroad competed for the prestigious AMA Innovation Award. The winners receive prize money of 10,000 euros. The jury is made up of representatives from research and industry. In their assessment, the jurors place particular emphasis on the level of innovation, the originality of the solutions and the market relevance of the research and development work submitted.
Nominations AMA Innovation Award 2024 in alphabetical order:
First true 3D magnetic field camera for rapid inspection
Development team: Prof. Radivoje Popovic, Sasa Spasic, Sasa Dimitrijevic, Dr. Alexander Stuck, Aleksandar Dimitrijevic, Maciej Urban, Matija Mijalkovic, Dejan Stankovic (Senis AG, Baar)
Description: The SEN-3D-CAM is a 3D magnetic field camera that integrates a compact magnetic imaging chip in a small head. It simultaneously measures all three magnetic field components (Bx, By, Bz) using Senis proprietary 3D Hall technology. With 16,000 pixels, the camera quickly captures a complete magnetic image and is ideal for inline and offline inspection with unprecedented precision.
Highest measurement performance in miniature format: 180 GHz radar measurement technology
Development team: Dr. Philipp Hügler, Dr. Markus Schartel, Sylwester Szymanski, Dr. Winfried Mayer, Dr. Dominic Maurath, Philipp Seifert, Markus Vogel, Ghislain Daufeld, Dr. Alexey Malinovskiy (Endress+Hauser SE+Co. KG, Maulburg)
Description: The innovation is a compact radar device for level measurement that has been specially developed for applications in the food & beverages and life sciences industries. The new 180 GHz technology enables the smallest antennas with high performance, which enables level measurement in small containers.
Photonically integrated FMCW single-chip LiDAR
Development team: Stanislav Aksarin, Vladimir Davydenko, Andy Zott (Scantinel Photonics GmbH, Ulm)
Description: Scantinel is developing a breakthrough single-chip FMCW LiDAR based on a photonic integrated platform. This technology takes autonomous mobility to the next level by solving the challenges of existing LIDAR sensors, utilizing CMOS-compatible photonic integration platforms and significantly reducing the cost, size and weight of the final LiDAR system.
Special prizes for two young companies
The special category 'Young Companies' was open to companies that have been on the market for less than five years, have fewer than 50 employees and generate an annual turnover of less than 10 million euros. The winners of the special prize will receive a free trade fair stand at the SENSOR+TEST 2024. This year, two development teams from a total of 10 applications submitted in this category convinced the jury.
FlexSense - Electroactive polymer (EAP) strain and pressure sensors
Development team: Andreas Meyer, Julian Neu, Dr. Alexander York (mateligent iDEAS GmbH) Saarbrücken), Prof. Paul Motzki (ZeMA gGmbH / Saarland University), Prof. Stefan Seelecke (Saarland University)
Description: Soft, thin, adaptable sensor elements that can provide accurate measurements over millions of cycles at material strains of up to 100 %.
Micro-Electro-Chemical Sensor Technology (MECS Technology™)
Development team: Ryan Guterman, Alexey Yakushenko (Faradaic Sensors GmbH, Berlin)
Description: The first electrochemical gas sensors on a MEMS-like chip that measure gases such as O2, CO2, H2 and many others.
"We would like to thank all applicants for the many high-quality submissions. The two start-ups stood out from the rest of the field of applicants in this special category. We invite both teams to present their developments at a free exhibition stand at the SENSOR+TEST 2024," says Professor Andreas Schütze, jury chairman from Saarland University. "The three nominated teams for the AMA Innovation Award 2024 represent the variety of developments and solutions in which innovative sensor and measuring technology is trend-setting for technical progress. We can't wait to see who will win the race this year."
The winners of the AMA Innovation Award 2024 will be announced on June 11, 2024 at the opening event of the SENSOR+TEST 2024 trade fair in Nuremberg.
The overview of all applications for the AMA Innovation Award 2024 can be found at https://www.ama-sensorik.de/fileadmin/Innovationspreis/Booklet/Broschuere_2024.pdf
