{
  "id": 3936163,
  "title": "Zukunftsgestalter: Trumpf auf dem Weg zum Maschinen-Menschen",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/zukunftsgestalter-trumpf-auf-dem-weg-zum-maschinen-menschen-3936163",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-28T09:55:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/roboter-trumpf-dank-ki-auf-dem-weg-zum-maschinen-menschen/100248242.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "In the development hall of Trumpf in Ditzingen, the revolution of robotics doesn't start with a spectacularly looking robot. It begins when machines stop getting predetermined movements, because they begin deciding for themselves. Despite Robotics not being a core theme of the family business, which specializes in laser technology from sheet metal processing to chip production, the company's DNA lies in always being at the forefront of the latest technologies and maintaining close contact with research and science. The secret to Trumpf's success is making industrial robots more intelligent, as they are intended to complement sheet metal machines and create competitive advantages. Chinese competition is already catching up to the world market leader. Handelsblatt has received exclusive insights into the sensitive area of Trumpf for the \"Future Shapers\" series. When thinking of intelligent industrial robots, one should not imagine them looking like humans, as Ralph Lange, Robotics Chief of the Middle-sized entrepreneur, says. Intelligence can be somewhere in the robot's inner or in the cloud. The key is to make robots smarter. Since technological leaps are mostly in the software of such extreme technical devices like industrial robots, Trumpf has 600 developers for their own software and an AI team of twelve in the headquarters and ninety more worldwide. \"AI is no spectator sport,\" says Sarah Engel, \"Head of AI\" at Trumpf. They involve all employees with a mandatory training, but they rely on curiosity and play applications on-site. The Trumpf method: The way to the light has always been two important driving forces in the Trumpf cosmos. Berthold Leibinger laid the foundation for his first invention in his diploma thesis in 1957, the copying and nibbling machine, which allowed precise and fast copying of contours and samples from metal parts based on a template. This gave the posthumously named \"Nibbler King\" the edge and laid the foundation for the rise to a global enterprise. He sold his patents to pay off his shares until the company of his mentor Christian Trumpf finally belonged to him. In the 70s, Leibinger recognized the potential of lasers for sheet metal processing. He bought American lasers and improved them until they were mass-produced. Today, Trumpf, under the leadership of its daughter Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, is the world leader in industrial lasers. Applications go far beyond sheet metal cutting, ranging from smartphone glass edges to ultra-short pulse lasers and EUV lasers and plasma generators, without which the latest and most efficient chips cannot be produced. No other company can do this. With semiconductor technology alone, Trumpf makes a billion euros. One recent future project with partner Rohde & Schwarz is laser defense systems for drones. However, not everything that Trumpf undertakes turns out well. Some ventures into new technologies have been discontinued, such as 3D metal printers and the recently acquired photonics sensors by Philips. But for the Trumpf leadership, such failures are part of the process. \"We will always adapt to new technologies and circumstances of the world, even if we don't chase after everything,\" Mathias Kammüller states, describing the basic principle of the Swiss company. In the management, the husband of the CEO is responsible for digitalization. \"We have always integrated new technologies into our products to move forward.\" Robots help the machine tools. Customer replacement part orders are already largely run by AI at Trumpf, but AI hits its limits. \"If it's about harmful consequences, it's safer to have the customer directly exchange with the specialist service provider, as AI sometimes starts fantasizing when it doesn't know something,\" says Machine Tools Chief Stephan Mayer and adds \"even\" to it.",
  "summary": "Für Trumpf reicht es nicht mehr, nur die besten Laser zu bauen. Was im Kampf gegen chinesische Konkurrenten zählt, sind Gesamtsysteme mit Robotik. Trumpf erobert das neue Feld mit KI.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Handelsblatt",
        "title": "Shaping the Future: Trumpf on the Road to the Machine Human",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/zukunftsgestalter-trumpf-auf-dem-weg-zum-maschinen-menschen",
        "published": "2026-08-28T02:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}