In the vast domain of industrial automation, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) serve as the core control devices. Every shift in their technological evolution and market landscape significantly impacts the development trajectory of the manufacturing industry. Currently, leading PLC enterprises are making frequent moves. From technological breakthroughs to market strategy adjustments, a series of recent developments are painting a brand - new picture of industry transformation.

Siemens: The Trumpet of Counterattack, Breaking the Game with Localized Customization

Facing the situation where domestic PLC brands such as Inovance and Xinje are aggressively eroding the mid - end market at a rapid pace (with an annual growth rate of 30%), Siemens launched a fierce "counterattack" in early 2025. Within just two months, three customized products for the Chinese market were intensively released. On January 23rd, the S7 - 1200 G2 made its official debut in China. This product maintains 100% of the hardware interfaces of the old model, with a program migration rate of over 95%, greatly reducing the costs and risks for users to upgrade their equipment. On March 6th, the S7 - 200 SMART V3.0 achieved a leapfrog upgrade, directly jumping from V2.0 to V3.0. Its instruction set is on a par with that of the S7 - 1200, while retaining the programming habits familiar to domestic users. Immediately afterwards, on March 14th, the SMART LINE V5 human - machine interface was launched, enabling mutual import and export of engineering files with mainstream domestic HMIs, further enhancing product compatibility.

Not only that, on February 19th, Siemens also introduced a new large - scale S7 - 1500CPU, completing the product coverage layout from low - mid to high - end. The research and development of these new products incorporate the wisdom of a large number of Chinese engineers. For China's local advantageous industries such as 3C and lithium - ion batteries, high - speed counting and motion control functions have been optimized. In the UI design, a "one - click recipe" shortcut commonly used by equipment manufacturers in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions has even been added. By constructing an ecological closed - loop with "low migration costs" and launching the "SMART Compatibility Plan", Siemens has deepened protocol adaptation cooperation with nearly 30 Chinese enterprises, transforming its technological advantages into "perceivable value" and completing the transformation from "German engineer thinking" to "Chinese user thinking", attempting to regain the initiative in the deep waters of Made in China.

[Insert a picture of Siemens' new product S7 - 1200 G2 here. Picture source: Siemens official website]

Inovance Technology: Deepening Quality, Raising the Benchmark with Warranty Upgrade

On August 8th, 2025, Inovance Technology significantly extended the standard warranty period of its GL20 series blade - type IO modules from 1.5 years to 5 years. This move is like a blockbuster, triggering in - depth discussions on...