What Wachendorff Automation does

Wachendorff Automation GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of industrial encoders and measuring systems, headquartered in Nieder-Roden (Geisenheim area), with wholly-owned regional subsidiaries in the United States and China (Suzhou). The company builds incremental quadrature encoders (WDGN with NFC configuration, WDGP with freely definable pulse count up to 16,384 ppr, WDGI as the industry-standard line), absolute magnetic encoders under the WDGA family, motor feedback systems, digital shaft copying systems (Silent Move series), length and speed measuring systems (LMSMA, speedMATE), and draw-wire systems. The product line rests on two patented magnetic-scanning technologies — QuattroMag for high-resolution single-turn absolute measurement (up to 16-bit, ±0.09° accuracy, 50 µs dynamic response) and EnDra for multi-turn absolute measurement with no overflow over several million revolutions — and supports industrial protocols including PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, CANopen, IO-Link, SSI, RS485, and SAE J1939, with a Universal IE variant that is protocol-selectable via web server.

The company serves OEMs and system integrators across eight verticals: mobile working machines, wind energy, cranes, aerial rescue vehicles, automated guided vehicles, industrial automation, heavy industry, and markers/labeling machines. Approximately 2,500 custom encoder variants are in series production worldwide, indicating substantial application-engineering customization alongside the standard catalog. The business model is hardware sales through a sales-led go-to-market motion: direct regional sales teams covering Germany (split Central-North/Central-South), Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific, supported by an international distributor network and catalogue distributors with automated SAP ordering. A TOP24 service offers 24-hour production and dispatch for standard products, and a 5-year warranty is offered across the portfolio. Marketing is content-led via the company website, newsletter, LinkedIn/Xing/YouTube presence, trade fair participation, and an extensive download center of technical documentation and application reports.

Wachendorff Automation is a privately held GmbH & Co. KG with no disclosed parent company, institutional investors, or external funding. Reported headcount is 51–100 employees. The company is not listed on any stock exchange and does not disclose revenue, ownership percentages, or detailed financial history in the available sources.

Name

Wachendorff Automation

Legal name

Wachendorff Automation GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://wachendorff-automation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Wachendorff Automation is a German manufacturer of industrial encoders and measuring systems, serving OEMs across mobile machinery, wind energy, cranes, AGVs, and industrial automation with patented QuattroMag and EnDra magnetic technologies and a global direct-plus-distributor sales model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Encoders and Motion Control Sensors

NAICS

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

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)

akta.pro primary industry

Motor Encoders, Feedback & Condition Monitoring (Encoders, Vibration, Predictive) (IMAGACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Motion Control Components (Servos, Drives, Motors, Encoders) (IMAHAHAG), Electromechanical Components (Relays, Switches, Potentiometers, Encoders) (IMAGAJAB)

Keywords

• Industrial encoders
• Motion control sensors
• Absolute encoders
• Motor feedback systems
• Measuring systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Geisenheim

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Encoder Sales: Manufacture and sale of incremental and absolute encoders, motor feedback systems, digital shaft copying systems, measuring systems, and accessories. Products are sold directly through regional sales teams and through an international distributor network. The company offers standard products as well as approximately 2500 different custom encoder types used in series worldwide.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Wachendorff Automation designs, manufactures, and distributes industrial encoders and measuring systems for motion control and position feedback. The portfolio spans incremental quadrature encoders, absolute magnetic encoders, motor feedback systems, digital shaft copying systems, length and speed measurement systems, and draw-wire systems. Encoders are offered in multiple form factors, communication protocols (PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, CANopen, IO-Link, SSI, RS485, SAE J1939), and protection ratings (IP67, IP69K) for harsh industrial environments. The company produces standard encoders and approximately 2,500 custom variants in series production worldwide.

Product overview

Wachendorff Automation is a specialist manufacturer of industrial encoders and measuring systems. The product portfolio centers on incremental encoders (WDGN, WDGP, WDGI series), absolute magnetic encoders (WDGA family), and motor feedback systems (WDGF). These are complemented by digital shaft copying systems (Silent Move series), length/speed measuring systems (LMSMA, speedMATE), and draw-wire systems (SZG). Core patented technologies include QuattroMag for high-precision single-turn absolute measurement and EnDra for multi-turn applications without overflow. The company offers a unique TOP24 rapid manufacturing service for standard products. All encoders support multiple industrial communication protocols including CANopen, IO-Link, SSI, RS485, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, and SAE J1939. An online encoder configurator enables custom product specification and data sheet generation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WDGN Incremental Encoder Incremental quadrature encoder configurable via NFC smartphone for parameter adjustment without physical connection; available in various housing sizes for industrial motion control applications.
• WDGP Incremental Encoder Incremental quadrature encoder offering freely definable pulse numbers up to 16,384 ppr (pulses per revolution).
• WDGI Incremental Encoder Incremental quadrature encoder in the new industry-standard form factor, available in solid and hollow shaft variants with housing sizes from 24mm to 115mm.
• WDGA Absolute Magnetic Encoder Family of absolute magnetic encoders built on QuattroMag and EnDra technologies, supporting CANopen, CANopen Lift, SAE J1939, IO-Link, SSI, RS485, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, and Universal IE protocols.
• WDGF Motor Feedback Systems Motor feedback systems with installation kits for servo motor control, supporting SSI, BiSS C, Sinus, and Cosinus output formats.
• Silent Move Digital Shaft Copying Systems Digital shaft copying systems for position measurement on elevator and lifting applications, available in Silent Move, Silent Move Light, and Silent Move Compact variants, plus guided cable shaft copying models.
• speedMATE Non-Contact Speed Measurement System Non-contact optical speed measurement system providing precise velocity detection without physical contact with the measured surface.
• LMSMA Length Measurement System Length measurement system with spring-loaded arm and measuring wheel, available in standard LMSMA and conical LMSMA32 variants, achieving resolution down to 0.008 mm/pulse.
• SZG Draw-Wire Systems Robust and compact draw-wire systems for linear position measurement in rugged environments, particularly used in mobile hydraulics applications.
• Redundant Encoders (WDGR series) Redundant encoders combining two independent sensing technologies (optical and magnetic) in a single 58mm housing for safety-critical applications, available in incremental and absolute variants.
• Universal Industrial Ethernet Encoder Protocol-selectable absolute encoder whose industrial Ethernet protocol (PROFINET, EtherCAT, or EtherNet/IP) can be configured via web server; available in solid shaft, end hollow shaft, and compact form factors.
• QuattroMag Single-Turn Absolute Encoder Technology Patented single-turn magnetic absolute encoder technology platform delivering high resolution (up to 16 bits), ±0.09° accuracy, and 50-microsecond dynamic range for high-precision position measurement.
• EnDra Multi-Turn Encoder Technology Patented multi-turn encoder technology platform enabling several million revolutions without overflow for high-precision absolute position measurement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Maximum single-turn resolution up to 16 bits
• +5 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hengstler: German encoder and counter specialist (now part of Fortive) with overlapping incremental and absolute encoder lines, direct PROFINET/EtherCAT product overlap, and a long-standing presence in European industrial automation channels.
• SICK AG: German sensor and encoder manufacturer with direct overlap in industrial encoders, motor feedback, and safety-rated redundant encoders, serving the same factory-automation and mobile-machine verticals.
• TR-Electronic: German specialist manufacturer of industrial rotary encoders and draw-wire systems; closest mid-size direct peer in the DACH Mittelstand segment, competing in the same mobile-machine and factory-automation channels.
• Heidenhain: German premium encoder and CNC measurement specialist; the dominant direct competitor in high-precision encoders with overlapping optical/magnetic product lines and identical end markets (machine tool, automation, robotics).
• Baumer Group: Swiss-headquartered encoder and sensor specialist with parallel incremental/absolute encoder portfolios, similar fieldbus protocol coverage (PROFINET, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP), and comparable custom-engineering capability for harsh-environment applications.
• Fritz Kübler (Kübler Group): German encoder and slip-ring manufacturer with similar product breadth (incremental, absolute, draw-wire) and comparable mid-size Mittelstand profile, serving overlapping factory-automation and wind/mobile-machine customers.

Broad incumbents

• Renishaw: UK-based precision measurement and encoder specialist; while broader (CMM probes, Raman, additive manufacturing), its encoder product line directly overlaps with Wachendorff's high-precision motion-feedback positioning.
• Pepperl+Fuchs: German industrial sensor and explosion-protection incumbent; competes in encoders (absolute/incremental) and motor feedback but as one line within a much broader sensor portfolio, including IO-Link and hazardous-area variants.
• Siemens SIMATIC/Automation Technology: Global industrial-automation leader whose SIMOTION/SINAMICS ecosystem and PROFINET-native encoders compete with Wachendorff at the OEM-platform level; serves as the benchmark scale competitor in the German Mittelstand's home market.
• Omron Industrial Automation: Global automation incumbent offering encoders alongside PLCs, motion controllers, drives, and safety systems; competes for the same OEM sockets and increasingly bundles encoders into integrated automation platforms.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4SEAQZDNN55scn5WJqgG3Q
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/wachendorff-automation-gmbh-&-co-kg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

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 Wachendorff Automation