Interview with Managing Director Dr Thomas Holm
SALZ Controller is an open, Linux-based and hardware-independent automation platform. Founded in 2021, the start-up SALZ Automation also offers complete solutions including control cabinet, relay, controller and power supply from a single source. Industrie-Digitalisierung spoke to one of the two managing directors, Dr Thomas Holm, about the goals of the start-up and the positioning of the company, which is one of the providers in the Smart Automation market overview. (All images: SALZ Automation)
Ulrich Sendler: Dr Holm, what was the motive behind founding the company with Thomas Hüttemeier in 2021?
Dr. Thomas Holm: We have both experienced over a number of years with large automation providers that the industry is increasingly looking for flexibility and openness in automation that traditional providers were unable to offer. New solutions are in demand for more and more automation projects for which the old concept of proprietary control systems has no answer. In the 2010s, Linux real-time, edge devices and then Docker and Kubernetes for the development of open container apps arrived, and we saw this as our opportunity. We were able to realise any innovative solution on this basis.
Ulrich Sendler: What does the name of your brand SALZ stand for?
Platform with spice
Dr. Thomas Holm: Thomas Hüttemeier founded the company in Bad Salzuflen. That was the origin. We find it very fitting for our solutions that people also think of spices.
Ulrich Sendler: Was the SALZ Controller the main product on which you wanted to build the business?
Dr. Thomas Holm: No, from the very beginning we intended to offer our customers complete solutions for automation. This has developed into three business areas: Firstly – and this currently accounts for around half of our turnover – the development of embedded software and devices. There is a huge demand for OT, but based on the technologies available today.
Secondly, we offer automation engineering as a service. We have specialists in everything from system architecture to application development, e-planning and control cabinet construction. The third business area is product sales, where our controllers and edge devices with a Linux platform are also used.
Ulrich Sendler: Are there specific sectors or fields of application that you are focussing on?
Dr. Thomas Holm: Our customers come from a wide variety of application areas. There is hardly a sector that does not have a need for flexible control technology. Apart from factories, we are also active in building automation. We have completed some pioneering projects in special machine construction. For example, for the automatic control and management of the take-off, landing and loading of drones with a wingspan of two metres, which were approved for just-in-time delivery by the German Federal Aviation Authority for the first time at the beginning of the year. However, interest in flexible, scalable solutions is growing in mechanical engineering in general.
Ulrich Sendler: When you think of apps, you think of Apple and Android. What does monetarization look like for your apps and your platform?
A video signal recorded during landing is stored in the control system and analysed using an algorithm developed by the customer. The algorithm was integrated into the AMAX 80C controller from SALZ Automation via a Docker image.
Dr. Thomas Holm: We often work on complete projects. All services are specified in advance and typically included in the price, including the software. But we also offer an app store where we say: ‘Powered by Flecs’. We are a strategic partner of Flecs Technologies and rely on their solution. So if you use our solution, you can install and use all the apps offered by Flecs on the platform. And billing is then automated via Flecs Technologies. However, customers often come with ready-made applications and don’t even need an app store.
Ulrich Sendler: So apps via pay per use are not the main part of your business on the platform either?
Dr. Thomas Holm: That’s right. This is probably the biggest difference in software utilisation in automation technology. In B2B business, pay-per-use is only just starting to take off. Here, the parties involved are still used to paper-based billing processes, not the fast-paced business as in B2C. Sometimes not even an app store is required. For this reason, we have planned two solutions. We call them Pure and Flecs.
Ulrich Sendler: Please explain the differences.
SALZ Controller: One platform, two levels
Dr. Thomas Holm: With SALZ Pure, customers can upload Docker images themselves – for example, images that they transport on a USB stick. Not everyone has the best internet connection when commissioning the system. That’s why the option of “offline engineering” is an absolute must for many users. And SALZ Pure is of course pre-installed in our devices. If our own applications are not enough, the app store opens up an additional potpourri of useful apps for automation technology for the customer.
Ulrich Sendler: When it comes to open platforms, there is always talk of ecosystems. Are you also building an ecosystem around SALZ Automation? Or are you part of another one?
Dr. Thomas Holm: We are not big enough to build our own ecosystem – and that is not our goal. We want to offer modern and honest automation solutions. To this end, we are a partner of Flecs Technologies, among others. Of course, we are also a partner for all platform providers that work with Flecs.
Ulrich Sendler: The openness of the platforms is a key aspect of the market overview. How do you feel about this?
Dr. Thomas Holm: Openness is indeed becoming an increasingly decisive competitive factor for both our clients and their customers.
In addition to the pure functionality of a solution, the question is increasingly: How quickly can I have the solution up and running? How easily can I add to and customise it? How well can I couple solutions from other providers with it? How free am I in my choice of development environment? We believe that our open solution is successful precisely because of its focus on security and performance.