About Industrielle Automation

Industrielle Automation

Industrielle Automation is a German trade journal for automation technology, published in Mainz by the Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH. Since 2012 it has informed engineers, technicians and managers about practical trends in automation, with a focus on current developments in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and the process industries. The journal continues the tradition of the MSR-Magazin, the measurement and control technology title it succeeded, and it appears as a print magazine with a digital edition, newsletters and an online platform. In 2026 the journal is in its 38th year of publication, covering topics from artificial intelligence and robotics to sensor technology, drive systems and industrial digitalisation for a professional readership that plans, builds and operates automated production.

Overview

Industrielle Automation describes itself as a practice-oriented journal for the newest trends in automation technology. Its target readers are specialists and managers in companies that develop, integrate or use automation solutions: design engineers, plant engineers, production managers, technical buyers and the management of machine-building and plant-engineering firms. The editorial concept emphasises application-oriented technical information, presenting new products, processes and system solutions in a form that practising engineers can evaluate and apply, rather than academic research papers.

The journal is published by the Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH (VFV), based at Lise-Meitner-Straße 2 in Mainz, a publishing house specialised in technical trade media. Its bibliographic identifiers are the print ISSN 2194-1157 and the online ISSN 2747-8017. The journal has been published since 2012 under its current title, continuing the MSR-Magazin (ISSN 0936-692X), a long-standing title for measurement, control and regulation technology. The 2026 volume is the 38th year of the publication, counting the predecessor title's run.

The editorial programme covers the full range of industrial automation: control technology, drive technology, sensor and measurement technology, industrial communication, robotics, machine vision, safety technology and the software platforms of the smart factory. Current issues address the transformation pressures on German industry, including rising costs, skilled-labour shortages and fragile supply chains, and the accelerating use of artificial intelligence, robotics and digital twins in production. The journal appears alongside a digital edition, editorial newsletters and a website, industrielle-automation.de, forming a cross-media offering for the automation industry and its advertisers.

History

The history of Industrielle Automation begins with its predecessor, the MSR-Magazin, a German trade journal for measurement, control and regulation technology that served the automation industry for decades. The MSR title, with the print ISSN 0936-692X, was one of the established specialist publications of the Vereinigte Fachverlage in Mainz, addressing the engineers who planned and maintained the control systems of industrial plants. As automation technology evolved beyond classical measurement and control into networked, software-driven production systems, the publisher repositioned the title to reflect the broader scope of the discipline.

In 2012 the journal was relaunched under the title Industrielle Automation, with the new print ISSN 2194-1157. The retitling marked the shift from the narrow MSR concept to a comprehensive automation journal covering the entire spectrum of modern production technology, from sensors and drives to industrial software and robotics. The Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH, led by managing directors including Dr. Olaf Theisen, continued to publish the journal from its Mainz headquarters, maintaining the editorial team and the industry relationships built up over the predecessor title's long run.

Since the relaunch, Industrielle Automation has documented a period of profound technological change in German industry. The 2010s brought the Industry 4.0 debate, the networking of machines and plants, and the first wave of industrial applications for data analytics and machine learning. The journal covered the rise of collaborative robotics, the spread of industrial Ethernet and wireless communication, and the growing importance of functional safety and IT security in production environments. The 2020s added the challenges of supply-chain disruption, energy costs and the skilled-labour shortage, alongside the breakthrough of generative artificial intelligence and its industrial applications. Through this period the journal has maintained its practice-oriented editorial line, translating technological trends into information that automation professionals can use in their daily work. The online ISSN 2747-8017 reflects the parallel development of the digital edition, and the journal's issues are archived and distributed through technical publishing platforms including the VDI Verlag's eLibrary.

Content and Sections

The content of Industrielle Automation is organised around the technology areas of industrial automation, with each issue combining product and application reports, technical features and industry news. Control technology coverage includes programmable logic controllers, industrial PCs, human-machine interfaces and the software tools for programming and commissioning, with attention to the convergence of operational technology and information technology in the modern plant. Drive technology articles address electric motors, frequency converters, motion control and the energy efficiency of drive systems, a topic of growing importance as energy costs shape investment decisions.

Sensor and measurement technology is a traditional strength inherited from the MSR predecessor, covering sensors for position, pressure, temperature, flow and level, as well as the IO-Link communication standard and the integration of sensor data into higher-level systems. Industrial communication and networking articles deal with fieldbus systems, industrial Ethernet, 5G in the factory and the cybersecurity of production networks. Robotics coverage spans industrial robots, collaborative robots and mobile robotics for intralogistics, while machine-vision features address camera systems and image-processing software for quality inspection and guidance tasks.

Beyond the technology areas, the journal reports on the strategic issues facing its readers: the digital transformation of production, the use of artificial intelligence from predictive maintenance to autonomous process optimisation, the concept of the digital twin, and the management challenges of automation projects. Case studies from machine builders and producing companies show automation solutions in real applications, giving readers reference points for their own projects. Trade fair coverage, including the Hannover Messe and SPS, the leading automation fair in Nuremberg, rounds out the editorial programme with trend assessments and product highlights from the industry's most important meeting points.

Publisher and Organization

Industrielle Automation is published by the Vereinigte Fachverlage GmbH (VFV), based at Lise-Meitner-Straße 2, 55129 Mainz. The publishing house is a specialist in technical trade media and publishes a range of journals for the engineering and industrial sectors, including titles for process technology, measurement and automation. The managing directors have included Dr. Olaf Theisen and Matthias Niewiem. The journal's imprint and publishing details are carried in each issue in accordance with German press law.

The journal has been published since 2012 under its current title, succeeding the MSR-Magazin, and the 2026 volume is its 38th year of publication counting the predecessor's run. Its identifiers are the print ISSN 2194-1157 and the online ISSN 2747-8017. The journal is distributed through the technical publishing ecosystem, with issues available in print and as a digital edition, and its content is indexed and archived on platforms such as the Inlibra journal database and the eLibrary of the VDI Verlag. Detailed current information on the editor-in-chief is not publicly confirmed in the sources consulted; the publisher's imprint carries the legally required editorial responsibility details.

Digital Presence

The digital presence of Industrielle Automation is anchored by industrielle-automation.de, the journal's website, which extends the print edition with news, product information and online articles for automation professionals. The site serves the engineering community with updates between print issues, covering product launches, company news and technology trends in automation. A digital edition of the journal, identified by the online ISSN 2747-8017, makes the full issues available electronically, and editorial newsletters deliver selected content directly to subscribers' inboxes.

The journal's content is also distributed through the eLibrary of the VDI Verlag, the publishing arm of the Association of German Engineers, where individual issues and articles are indexed and archived for the technical community. This integration into the professional information infrastructure underlines the journal's role as a working tool for engineers rather than a general-interest publication. On social media and professional networks, the Vereinigte Fachverlage maintain channels that support the journal's titles with current information. For advertisers from the automation industry, from sensor and drive manufacturers to software and robotics suppliers, the combination of the print journal, the digital edition, the website and the newsletters offers a cross-media platform that reaches the decision-makers who specify and purchase automation technology in German industry.