One year of growth, progress, but also challenges – on the first anniversary of their official founding day, this is what ebm-papst neo can look back to. The digital start-up in Dortmund, a subsidiary of ebm-papst, the leading manufacturer of fans and drives worldwide, develops and markets digital solutions which can be used, for instance, to improve the energy footprint and air quality in buildings or for intelligent data analysis. To do so, ebm-papst neo makes full use of a wide range of software and hardware solutions and a host of competencies in service and consulting.

Since back in 2018, there had been a relevant project team at ebm-papst. However, due to the immense future potential for the entire Group, the fan and motor manufacturer based in Mulfingen decided to officially launch ebm-papst neo GmbH & Co. KG in April 2020. The rather small start-up has meanwhile prospered into a team of 30, with the team spread across Mulfingen, Dortmund and India. Together, they worked on and realized more than 100 projects in 17 different countries throughout the world in their very first year. Oliver Kühnle, Managing Director of ebm-papst neo: “Though the Corona pandemic hampered our company growth in some areas, it also boosted our growth in others, such as indoor air quality. In general, we managed to intensify our growth in building solutions and particularly in industry solutions.”

A decisive factor in the team’s success is the fact that ebm-papst neo has stakes in three international companies. “Together with our holdings and partners, we managed to develop and implement solutions in a very short time: RESET, the only standard for indoor air quality based on real time; Flexi-Connect, a flexible and cloud-based data collection platform; Secure-Connect, a highly secure architecture; and Building Connect, a self-learning energy management platform for buildings. With these, we can make data utilization possible in the most diverse areas”, explains Thomas Sauer, Managing Director at ebm-papst neo in Dortmund. And there have also been milestones in the close cooperation with the parent company ebm-papst. Together, they developed the cloud- based ScipExpress that supports companies in handling the new obligation to report substances of concern which has been in effect since January.

Another highlight of the first year: In spring 2021, the renowned economics magazine “Capital” reported on the start-up from Dortmund in their category “Most innovative companies. The magazine emphasized their focus on digitization and the generation of added value by making data visible and usable. This and the award as “Germany’s most innovative companies” made the team hugely proud of their work.  

Thus motivated and with their eyes set on bigger goals, ebm-papst neo is looking forward to their next year. New solutions in the field of Industry 4.0 and Building Solutions are already under way.