Electrification and automation technology developer Siemens AG and polymer materials manufacturer Covestro Deutschland AG have finalized a joint business development plan to provide further strategic reinforcement of their trust-based partnership of many years, particularly in the field of digitalization. This agreement will focus on a variety of topics that extends from the continuous development of production technologies to piloting new ideas that contribute to shaping the digital landscape of both companies. “This collaboration with Siemens generates added value for both companies,” said Klaus Schäfer, chief technology officer at Covestro. “We are combining the innovative forces of both companies to extend our lead in this time of rapid development.” One focal point of the collaboration is to increase the availability of all assets in a plant and to give personnel on-site quick and meaningful decision-making tools for their work. The objective is to make the plants more reliable through proven products and innovative services and to be able to predict developments in the condition of a plant’s assets more reliably. “I am very pleased with this new stage of our concerted collaboration with Covestro Deutschland AG,” said Eckard Eberle, CEO of Siemen’s process automation business unit. “By exchanging expertise, we can support plant operations and maintenance with the right information at the right time, particularly with smart data for production, plant equipment, and instrumentation.” Siemens is developing predictive process data models for manufacturing, which, among other things, minimize breakdowns. Other developments include mobile devices for use in the field and software solutions that can communicate with process technology and with control and management systems. Covestro is introducing its process technology and production expertise to generate joint marketing solutions.