SIEMENS DIVES INTO LOGISTICS AUTOMATION.

Siemens AG, the mind bogglingly huge German corporation [whose net sales For 2000 of over $70 billion probably qualify it for membership in the G7] merged its Production and Logistics Systems group with Mannesmann Dematic AG to Form Siemens Dematic. This means that in one Fell swoop Siemens has become the world's largest supplier of production and logistics automation systems. At the announcement of the merger in Chicago, executives from the new company did not give any concrete plans For how this would affect their business with automotive companies, but they clearly indicated that they expected the vast automotive experience of Siemens AG to create synergies that would aid their business.

The Automation and Control businesses, under which Siemens Dematic Falls, represented 28% of sales for the entire corporation in the First half of fiscal 2001, and Siemens' executives project Further growth-enough to warrant their move into the production and logistics automation arena. A key advantage that Siemens has, according to Dr. Edward Krubasik, member of the Central Board of Siemens AG, is the ability to use their huge hardware and software resources to create standards and drive down costs [Siemens employs more than 30,000 software developers- more than Microsoft).