What KEB Automation does

KEB Automation KG is a privately held German industrial automation company headquartered in Barntrup, Germany, founded in 1972 and operating under a Kommanditgesellschaft (limited partnership) structure as part of the KEB Gruppe. The company designs and manufactures a broad integrated portfolio of drive and automation technology, including frequency inverters and servo drives (COMBIVERT F6, S6, G6, R6), safety PLCs and HMIs (C6 family), industrial PCs, modular I/O systems, spring-applied and electromagnetic brakes and clutches (COMBISTOP, COMBIPERM, COMBINORM), permanent-magnet and AC servo motors, and a range of gearmotors. Its products are organized across four primary categories — automation and IIoT platforms, control technology and automation, drive technology, and brakes & clutches — supported by motors and gearboxes and a software toolchain (COMBIVIS studio 6, COMBIVIS connect, HELIO HMI management system, KEB-DRIVE software).

The company serves industrial machinery and plant OEMs across a horizontally diversified set of verticals, including electromobility, lift and elevator systems, intralogistics and cranes, medical technology, packaging and food processing, plastics processing, metal recycling, industrial robotics, turbocompressors, wind energy, and woodworking. KEB's business model is primarily hardware-led, selling components and integrated system solutions to enterprise customers via direct field sales, supported by a worldwide service and training network with localized entities in Germany, the United States, Italy, Japan, and China, complemented by quote-based pricing and after-sales technical services. Go-to-market relies on trade-show presence, a content and webinar program (Knowledge Hub), email newsletters, and social channels. While the company has begun extending into software and IIoT with the NOA platform and remote maintenance offerings, its core revenue mechanics remain anchored in industrial hardware sales to engineering-driven OEM buyers.

Name

KEB Automation

Legal name

KEB Automation KG

Website

https://keb.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

KEB Automation KG is a privately held German industrial automation company (founded 1972, headquartered in Barntrup) that designs and manufactures integrated drive, motor, brake, clutch, and control technology — including the COMBIVERT, COMBISTOP, and C6 product lines — sold to industrial machinery and plant OEMs across verticals such as robotics, wind energy, intralogistics, and electromobility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Drive and Automation Technology

NAICS

Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Electrical Industrial Apparatus (3620), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Controllers & Control Systems (PLCs, PACs, CNC Controllers) (IMAHAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial Control Panels & Enclosures (Panel Building, MCCs, Integration) (IMAGABAJ), Motor Control Centers & Motor Protection (Overload Relays, Protection, Monitoring) (IMAGACAI), Motor Encoders, Feedback & Condition Monitoring (Encoders, Vibration, Predictive) (IMAGACAJ)

Keywords

• Industrial drive technology
• Automation controllers
• Servo drives
• Industrial braking systems
• Gearmotors

Headquarters

HQ city

Barntrup

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Industrial Automation Hardware: Sale of automation and drive components including frequency converters, servo drives, motors, gearboxes, brakes, clutches, HMIs, PLCs, and industrial PCs. Products are sold as individual components and as integrated system solutions.
2. Software Licenses and Tools: Revenue from software products including COMBIVIS studio 6, COMBIVIS connect, and HELIO HMI Management System
3. Technical Services and Support: Technical sales support, training programs, webinars, and after-sales service including online service portal

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KEB Automation manufactures and sells industrial drive and automation technology, including frequency inverters, servo drives, controllers, motors, gearboxes, brakes and clutches for machine builders and plant constructors. Their portfolio spans the NOA IIoT platform, HMI panels, embedded controllers, safety PLCs, industrial PCs, and proprietary software tools including COMBIVIS studio 6 and HELIO HMI Management System. The company supports EtherCAT, PROFINET, and EPLAN integration standards and serves industries such as electromobility, intralogistics, medical technology, packaging, plastics, recycling, robotics, and wind energy.

Product overview

KEB Automation is a comprehensive industrial automation and drive technology company offering an integrated product portfolio across four main categories: Automation & IIoT Platform (NOA - Next Open Automation), Control Technology & Automation (HMI panels, embedded controllers, industrial PCs, safety systems, I/O systems, remote maintenance, and COMBIVIS engineering software), Drive Technology (COMBIVERT frequency inverters, servo drives, supply/feedback units, and application-specific solutions like high-speed drives, lift drives, pitch drives, and modular inverter systems), and Brakes & Clutches (spring-applied brakes, permanent magnet brakes/clutches, electromagnetic brakes/clutches, and energy-saving products). The company also offers Motors & Gearboxes including gearmotors (spur, flat, worm, bevel gear), asynchronous motors, servo motors, synchronous servo motors, integrated inverter motors, AC servo motors, and high-torque motors. This modular architecture allows customers to source complete drive and automation solutions from a single vendor, with products designed to work together and supported by global service networks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NOA - Next Open Automation Automation and IIoT platform enabling open automation architecture for digital transformation of industrial machines and plants, including connectivity, data acquisition, and remote monitoring.
• HELIO HMI Management System HMI management system for managing and monitoring human-machine interface panels across industrial applications.
• C6 HMI Touch Panels HMI touch panels (C6 HMI, C6 X1) for industrial control, monitoring, and visualization applications.
• C6 Embedded Automation Controllers Compact embedded automation controllers (C6 HMI LC, C6 S14, C6 SMART, C6 COMPACT II, C6 COMPACT 3, H6 CONTROL UNIT) for industrial automation tasks.
• C6 Industrial PCs Industrial PC platforms (C6 E22, C6 E32, C6 P33, C6 P34) for automation, process control, and demanding automation environments.
• C6 Safety Systems Safety-certified C6 SAFETY PLC and C6 SAFETY I/O modules for functional safety in industrial automation applications.
• I/O Systems Modular I/O system (UR20) and C6 Remote I/O for industrial automation signal acquisition and distributed automation architectures.
• C6 Router Industrial router for secure remote access and remote maintenance of automation systems.
• COMBIVIS Software Tools Engineering software suite (COMBIVIS studio 6, COMBIVIS studio HMI, COMBIVIS connect) for programming, configuring, and managing KEB automation and drive products, including HMI development and remote connectivity.
• COMBIVERT Drive Controllers and Servo Drives High-performance drive controllers (COMBIVERT F6) and servo drive controllers (COMBIVERT S6) for precision motion control and variable frequency drive applications.
• COMBIVERT Frequency Inverters Variable frequency inverters (COMBIVERT G6, and legacy F5) for standard industrial drive applications.
• COMBIVERT Active Infeed/Feedback Converters Active infeed and regenerative feedback units (COMBIVERT R6, H6-AIC, F5-AIC) for efficient power conversion and energy recovery in drive systems.
• COMBIVERT Application Solutions Application-specific drive solutions combining F6 and S6 drives, including high-speed drive systems and specialized lift/elevator drives.
• T6 APD Modular Inverter System Modular inverter system for scalable drive configurations.
• COMBIVERT P6 Pitch Drive Pitch drive controller for wind turbine blade pitch control systems.
• COMBISTOP Spring-Applied Brakes Spring-applied brake family (COMBISTOP 08, 28, 38, 38D, S1, S1 FLAT) including miniature, sealed, standard, double, and flat-design brakes for industrial applications and robotics joints, including humanoid robots.
• COMBIPERM Permanent Magnet Brakes and Clutches Permanent magnet brake and clutch family (COMBIPERM P1, P2 standard and high-performance brakes, COMBIPERM PC clutch) for industrial holding, braking, and torque transmission.
• COMBINORM Electromagnetic Brakes and Clutches Electromagnetic brake and clutch family (COMBINORM B brake, COMBINORM C clutch, COMBINORM T tooth clutch, COMBIBOX clutch-brake combination) for industrial braking and torque transmission.
• COMBITRON Power Electronics Rectifiers and power electronics accessories (COMBITRON 91, COMBITRON 98 Powerbox eco rapid switching rectifier) for controlling electromagnetic brakes and clutches.
• KEB Gearmotors Gear motor series including spur (G_D/G_TA), flat (F_D/F_TA), worm (S_D/S_TA), and bevel (K_D/K_TA) gear motors for industrial power transmission.
• KEB Industrial Motors Industrial motor portfolio including asynchronous (DM/DA), servo (TA), synchronous servo (DL), integrated frequency inverter (MU), AC servo (AL4), and high-torque (BT) motor series for industrial automation and precision motion control.
• KEB-DRIVE Software Drive configuration and parameterization software for KEB motors and drives.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EtherCAT Technology GroupcoreTechnology or IntegrationKEB Automation supports EtherCAT as an industrial communication standard in their automation and drive products, enabling interoperability with EtherCAT-based systems.
• PROFINETcoreTechnology or IntegrationKEB Automation supports PROFINET industrial communication standard in their products for integration into PROFINET-based automation systems.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bosch Rexroth: Major German automation and drive-technology incumbent with broad portfolio in drives, motion control, PLCs, and factory automation. Overlaps with KEB's drive and control offerings but operates at much larger scale and broader system scope.
• ABB (Motion / Robotics & Discrete Automation): Global industrial group offering drives (ACS series), motion control, PLCs, and robotics. Direct overlap with KEB in drives and motors, with broader product breadth and a stronger global service footprint.
• Schneider Electric (Industrial Automation): Global automation and energy management company offering drives (Altivar), PLCs (Modicon), and motion control. Competes with KEB across drives and controllers, with stronger presence in building and energy-related automation segments.
• Siemens (Digital Industries): Global automation leader with the SIMATIC PLC family, SINAMICS drives, and SIMOTION motion control. Competes with KEB across virtually every product category but as part of a much larger automation portfolio anchored by the TIA Portal software suite.

Direct peers

• Beckhoff Automation: German automation company specializing in PC-based control, EtherCAT-based I/O, drives, and motion control. Competes with KEB in controllers, drives, and software toolchains, particularly through the TwinCAT platform.
• Bonfiglioli: Italian-headquartered manufacturer of gearmotors, drive systems, and inverters. Direct overlap with KEB in gearboxes, motors, and frequency inverters, especially in packaging, material handling, and wind.
• Yaskawa Electric: Japanese specialist in servo drives, motion controllers, and industrial robots. Direct peer to KEB in high-performance servo and motion control, especially for robotics and high-speed applications.
• SEW-Eurodrive: German-headquartered global specialist in drive technology, gearmotors, motors, and automation electronics. Direct competitor to KEB across gearmotors, frequency inverters, and servo drives, with comparable single-source system positioning toward machine builders.
• Lenze: German mid-sized automation specialist offering drives, motors, gearboxes, and controller-based automation. Closely comparable product breadth to KEB with a similar Mittelstand heritage and OEM-focused go-to-market.
• Nord Drivesystems: German family-owned manufacturer of drive technology including gearmotors, frequency inverters, servo drives, and motors. Competes head-to-head with KEB in gearmotor and drive-controller categories, especially in intralogistics and packaging.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/KEBAutomation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kebautomation
• Instagraminstagram.com/keb.automation
• Facebookfacebook.com/KEBAutomationKG

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KEB Automation