Comunicado

Just in time for this year's SPS exhibition in Nuremberg, Germany, the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) has once again taken stock of its membership growth, which is again convincing in 2019. This is, of course, largely due to the quality of the EtherCAT technology itself, but also to a high extent to the comprehensive range of support and information available, which the members of the world's largest fieldbus user organization can access without restriction.

In recent years, ETG has grown by more than 500 new members in 12 months: One year ago, member 5,000 was celebrated at the trade fair, while ETG started this year’s SPS with a total of 5,625 members. Considering that ETG does not count any individuals as members, but only entire companies or universities, these figures are even more impressive.

Looking at the worldwide distribution of ETG member companies, the high percentage in Asia is particularly striking. About 40% of ETG's members come from China, Taiwan, Japan or Korea — a good 2,250 in all. These figures show that EtherCAT technology has completely arrived and is widely accepted on the Asian continent.

As the fastest industrial Ethernet technology available, it is primarily EtherCAT itself that attracts the numerous members to ETG. The unique functional principle of processing on the fly, coupled with numerous features such as simple configuration, precise diagnostics, high-precision synchronization and the largest variety of devices on the market, make EtherCAT the communication system of choice for the majority of users.

In addition, the large number of members is also due to the work of ETG's global experts. These knowledgeable representatives ensure that all members have access to a comprehensive range of EtherCAT technology at seminars and training courses, in product development support, at trade fairs and events such as the EtherCAT Plug Fests. As a result, the "EtherCAT Developer Ecosystem" is fully developed and highly active.

All information on the conditions and benefits of an ETG membership can be found at www.ethercat.org/members.