As manufacturing shifts toward intelligence and flexibility, automation providers are being challenged to rethink long-held paradigms. In this exclusive interaction with The Packman at the 8th edition of B&R Innovation Days, held at the JW Marriott Hotel Pune, Florian Schneeberger, CEO of B&R Industrial Automation and division president of ABB Machine Automation, outlines how the company’s ‘Perfection in Automation’ philosophy is evolving for the adaptive era. He discusses collaboration, open architectures, and why the future belongs to smarter – not just more – automation.
Mahan Hazarika: How has B&R’s philosophy of ‘Perfection in Automation’ evolved in the age of adaptive manufacturing?
Florian Schneeberger: ‘Perfection in Automation’ has always meant to us removing complexity for our customers while enabling them to take the next leap in productivity. In the age of adaptive manufacturing, this principle has become even more relevant. Today, performance is no longer about rigidity or static optimization; it is about systems and solutions that adapt in real time to new product requirements, materials, and batch sizes. We have evolved our philosophy by placing even stronger focus on flexibility: open architectures, integrated mecha-tronics, and intelligent decision making at the machine level. This allows manufacturers to operate with responsiveness and resilience to the modern market demand.
Mahan Hazarika: What uniquely differentiates B&R’s adaptive automation approach from conventional automation providers?
Florian Schneeberger: Most automation providers still revolve around fixed layouts and closed communication standards. Our approach breaks that paradigm. B&R combines advanced mechatronic transport systems, integrated robotics, machine vision, motion control, and a unified software environment into one adaptive architecture, all while relying on open communication standards such as OPC UA FX. This allows on-the-fly changeovers, efficient variant handling, and effortless scaling, ensuring robust system scalability and full compatibility.
What truly sets B&R apart is how closely we collaborate with our customers. Rather than delivering rigid, predefined solutions, we co-innovate with machine builders and end users to jointly design systems tailored to real production challenges. Through early involvement, modular design principles, and digital engineering tools such as simulation and digital twins, customers actively shape their automation concepts alongside our experts. This collaborative approach accelerates innovation, reduces risk, and ensures that adaptive automation solutions are not only technologically advanced but also practical, futureproof, and aligned with evolving market demands.
Mahan Hazarika: How does being part of the ABB Group strengthen B&R’s innovation roadmap and global sustainability goals?
Florian Schneeberger: Being part of ABB gives B&R the scale, global reach, and research depth to accelerate innovation while staying close to customers. ABB’s leadership in electrification, automation, energy efficiency, and digitalization strengthens our positioning. At the same time, B&R maintains the agility and specialization of a dedicated machine and factory automation expert.
Through ABB’s sustainability agenda and reporting framework, we align our own actions – from circular product design to resource-efficient operations and CO2 reduction initiatives – with globally recognized best practices and robust methodologies. This gives us both scale and credibility in how we innovate and how we measure our impact.
Mahan Hazarika: What strategic industries will drive B&R’s growth in India over the next five years?
Florian Schneeberger: India is at a turning point. We see strong momentum in packaging, pharma and life sciences, automotive components, and advanced machinery OEMs. These sectors are shifting from cost-driven production toward high-precision, high-flexibility manufacturing. India’s machine builders are rapidly adopting new technologies like digital twins, predictive maintenance, and adaptive mechatronics. With B&R’s integrated automation solutions, we can give customers the agility and performance they need to compete globally.
Mahan Hazarika: Are today’s factories over-automated but under-intelligent? How do you see this gap?
Florian Schneeberger: Many factories have added automation layer by layer without unifying the underlying intelligence. As a result, they may be automated but cannot make use of their data. The gap lies in fragmented software, disconnected data, and rigid machine architecture. Intelligence emerges only when machines can understand their environment, react autonomously, and optimize themselves. Our goal is to shift automation from hard-coded sequences to data-driven, adaptive behavior. Factories don’t need more automation; I strongly believe they need smarter automation.
Mahan Hazarika: Is resilience in factories driven more by digital architecture or by leadership mindset?
Florian Schneeberger: Both are essential – but for me, mindset comes first. Digital architecture enables resilience, yet it is leadership that chooses flexibility over rigidity, openness over proprietary silos, and continuous learning over static processes. When leaders embrace adaptability as a strategic priority, digital architecture follows. Those that build resilience into their culture and their infrastructure are the ones that can leverage competitive advantages by integrating modular machines, open standards, integrated data flows, and a workforce empowered by intuitive technology.
Mahan Hazarika: How do you prevent digital transformation from becoming a patchwork of disconnected technologies?
Florian Schneeberger: Digital transformation only works when motion, robotics, vision, control, safety, and analytics all share a common engineering model and communicate through open, real-time standards. Our architecture is built on a unified engineering environment, a single data model, and fully integrated hardware–software mecha-tronic systems.
Therefore, we advocate open standards and communication protocols like OPC UA FX. When the foundation is coherent, every new capability becomes an addition – not a burden.
Mahan Hazarika: Does adaptive automation increase the complexity, or does it simplify long-term operations?
Florian Schneeberger: In the short term, adaptive automation may introduce new capabilities, but in the long term, it significantly simplifies operations. Instead of managing countless mechanical variants, operators manage software-defined flexibility. Instead of rebuilding machines for new variants, they switch formats at the push of a button. Predictive analytics and real-time synchronization reduce troubleshooting, waste, and unplanned downtime. Over the lifecycle of a machine, adaptive automation reduces complexity for engineers and operators and keeps machines competitive for years without redesigns.
Mahan Hazarika: Are smart factories solving the right problems, or just faster versions of old processes?
Florian Schneeberger: Smart factories create the opportunity to solve fundamentally different problems – but only if we rethink production. If digital tools are simply layered on top of old workflows, we are only accelerating outdated processes. True transformation comes when we redesign production to be modular, software-defined, and responsive, where the factory adapts to the product and not vice versa. Smart factories must focus on agility, sustainability, and variant flexibility, not just speed.
Mahan Hazarika: What should manufacturers unlearn to embrace adaptive systems?
Florian Schneeberger: For many years, manufacturers believed that stability required rigid processes. But in today’s markets, rigidity can turn into a risk factor. Stability and growth come from systems that can adapt quickly to new products, new regulations, new supply conditions, and new customer expectations. Flexibility has become the foundation for operational resilience.
