ars

What ars does

ars GmbH is a privately held German engineering services company founded in 1988 and headquartered in Lohmar, North Rhine-Westphalia, that specializes in plant automation, robotics, and software engineering for industrial manufacturers. The company delivers configurable standard solutions built on modern software tools and proven base technologies, with explicit emphasis on transparent and compatible architectures that integrate with customers' existing automation and IT systems rather than replacing them with proprietary stacks.

The company's service portfolio is organized into three integrated lines: Anlagenautomation (PLC/SPS and PC-based automation), Robotertechnik (industrial robotics and communication systems), and Software-Engineering und Datentechnik (object-oriented software for manufacturing IT). ars operates as a general contractor, assuming full project responsibility from mechanical construction and electrical design through software development, assembly, and commissioning, and supports customers post-delivery via hotline, user meetings, continuing education, and consulting. It serves eight industrial verticals — plastics processing, automotive supply, food and beverage, metalworking, paper, plant engineering, special machine construction, and building materials — with stated worldwide reach alongside its German home market.

Revenue is generated through project-based, customized engagements priced per quote, with no disclosed contract sizes or anchor accounts. The firm is led by two managing directors, Frank Forke and Peter Lindlahr, and operates with 11–50 employees under the GmbH legal form. There is no evidence of external institutional investment, public listing, acquisitions, partnerships, or material growth investment, and no AI/ML capability is disclosed.

Name

ars

Legal name

ars GmbH

Website

https://ars-gmbh.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ars GmbH is a German engineering services firm founded in 1988 that delivers plant automation, robotics, and software engineering solutions as a general contractor to industrial manufacturers across eight verticals including plastics, automotive supply, food and beverage, and metalworking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Automation Services

NAICS

Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Industrial Machinery Manufacturing (3332)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560)

akta.pro primary industry

Control System Integration & Engineering Services (Design, Commissioning, Retrofits) (IMAGABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial & Process Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAF), Industrial Controllers & Control Systems (PLCs, PACs, CNC Controllers) (IMAHAHAH), Industrial Automation Software (SCADA, HMI, MES, Historian) (IMAHAHAJ)

Keywords

• Industrial automation services
• Robotics integration
• PLC software engineering
• Manufacturing process automation
• Plant automation solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Lohmar

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Industrial Automation and Robotics Project Services: Project-based revenue through planning, development, and implementation of automation solutions, robotics integration, and software engineering services for manufacturing clients. Revenue is generated through complete project deliveries as general contractor covering construction, manufacturing, assembly, electrical design, software creation, and commissioning.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

ars GmbH delivers complete, project-based automation, robotics, and software engineering solutions to industrial manufacturers. Acting as a general contractor (Generalunternehmen), the company plans, develops, and implements PLC/SPS and PC-based automation systems, industrial and commercial communication solutions, and object-oriented software solutions that integrate with existing customer infrastructure. Services span mechanical design, manufacturing, assembly, electrical design, software creation, assembly, and commissioning.

Product overview

ars GmbH offers a unified portfolio of three integrated service lines: Anlagenautomation (plant automation), Robotertechnik (robotics), and Software-Engineering und Datentechnik (software engineering and data technology). The company specializes in developing configurable partial solutions that are combined into complete individual solutions, using modern software tools and proven hardware standards. All base solutions are transparently and compatibly constructed to provide investment protection and ensure compatibility for system migration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Anlagenautomation (Plant Automation) Planning, development, and implementation of standard solutions for PLC/SPS software or PC-technology for the manufacturing industry, based on configurable partial solutions using modern software tools and proven base technologies with high integration capacity into existing or new automation systems. Targeted at industrial manufacturers across multiple sectors.
• Robotertechnik (Robotics Technology) Consulting, planning, and introduction of industrial and commercial communication and system solutions. Delivered by experienced project management teams ensuring high schedule and delivery reliability with customer-oriented project execution for integration of total robotics solutions. Targeted at industrial manufacturers integrating robotics into production lines.
• Software-Engineering und Datentechnik (Software Engineering and Data Technology) Development and implementation of object-oriented standard solutions for the manufacturing industry based on configurable partial solutions using modern software tools and proven base technologies with high integration capacity into existing IT and automation systems. Targeted at manufacturers requiring production software, data integration, and IT/OT system connectivity.

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Festo: Global German-headquartered supplier of pneumatic and electrical automation technology with a strong solutions/integration business. Operates in the same industrial automation category as ars, including factory and process automation, but at substantially greater scale and with proprietary products.
• Siemens Digital Industries: Global incumbent in industrial automation, PLCs (SIMATIC), SCADA, and digital industries software. Frequently a supplier of the platforms ars integrates; competes with ars on large-scale integration mandates and is the dominant force shaping German automation buyer preferences.
• ABB (Process Automation / Robotics & Discrete Automation): Global automation incumbent offering PLCs, robotics, drives, and integrated automation solutions. Competes with ars in plant automation projects across process and discrete industries served by both firms.
• Beckhoff Automation: German manufacturer of PC-based control technology, PLCs, drives, and automation software, with deep integrator ecosystem. Overlaps ars's PC-based automation and PLC/SPS service lines; significantly larger and product-led rather than service-led.
• KUKA AG: German-headquartered robotics and automation integrator, directly relevant to ars's Robotertechnik line. Much larger and product-led, but competes for robotics integration projects in automotive, metalworking, and consumer goods manufacturing.
• Phoenix Contact: German-headquartered supplier of industrial connectivity, controllers, and automation infrastructure. Overlaps ars on electrical design and PLC integration scope, and operates an active solution-partner network of integrators like ars.

Direct peers

• CENIT AG: Stuttgart-based digitalization and software/automation services provider for industrial manufacturing, with overlap in software engineering, MES/digital factory consulting, and PLC-related services. Comparable as a German SME-scale industrial software and systems integrator.
• HAHN Automation Group: German-based international system integrator for industrial automation with comparable scope across assembly, robotics, and factory automation. Directly competes with ars for German Mittelstand automation projects and serves many of the same end markets (automotive suppliers, plastics, consumer goods).
• FFT (Flexible Fertigungstechnik / EDAG Group): German automation systems integrator specializing in production systems for automotive and industrial customers, with similar general-contractor delivery of turnkey automation lines. Closely comparable on scope, customer base, and project-based service model.

Emerging players

• MPDV Mikrolab GmbH: German mid-market MES/SCADA software vendor serving industrial customers, overlapping with ars's software engineering and industrial automation software practice. Comparable in size and customer profile, and a potential software-platform complement or competitor to ars's in-house software work.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 ars