Machine and plant builders today need technology that makes their work easier. In practice, they struggle with different components, legacy architectures, and heterogeneous engineering environments. Systems are difficult to plan, complex to implement, and only partially scalable. This customer need is precisely what shapes Lenze’s strategic realignment and Dr. Marc Wucherer’s vision for the future of drive technology.
“Many customers are struggling with excessive complexity today,” says Wucherer. “Our task is to make this complexity manageable again, in engineering, commissioning, and day-to-day operation.”
The CEO of the Lenze Group describes the challenges faced by many customers as a turning point: powerful components, intelligent controllers, and digital tools are available. More and more functions, interfaces, safety requirements, and software elements are meeting shorter project timelines and increasing cost pressure. Yet in everyday operations, this diversity must remain manageable.
The Best Axis: From Drive System to Complete Solution
At the heart of Lenze’s realignment is a clear vision: the Best Axis for every customer application. The Best Axis is not a single product. It is a value proposition created within the application context. Mechatronics, electronics, software, artificial intelligence (AI), and services are coordinated in such a way that a motion task becomes an integrated, manageable, and economical solution.
“For us, the Best Axis is more than the sum of individual components,” says Wucherer. “It is the result of perfectly coordinated mechatronics, electronics, software, AI, and services, designed from the customer and application perspective.”
This places a question at the center that is becoming more important for machine and plant builders than the next isolated technological innovation: How can motion be planned, integrated, and operated so that machines and systems can be built faster, remain easier to manage, and deliver reliable performance throughout their lifecycle?
Managing Complexity in Intralogistics
The value of the Best Axis is particularly evident in two areas: increased productivity and ease of use. Lenze’s end-to-end approach reduces engineering and integration effort, simplifies integration into existing automation architectures, and accelerates the path from planning to productive operation. The benchmark is not the individual component but the best possible motion outcome for the customer.
One application example of the Best Axis is modern conveyor systems in parcel distribution centers, distribution warehouses, or production logistics environments. These systems consist of many interconnected motion axes, each of which must operate reliably. However, they only realize their full potential as a Best Axis within the overall system. Decentralized drive solutions such as the i650 motec frequency inverter enable conveyor modules to be implemented directly at the machine, reducing wiring effort and control cabinet size. Standardized software modules and integrated engineering tools simplify the commissioning of new conveyor segments and accelerate future expansions.
Especially in intralogistics environments with modular conveyor systems, the Best Axis enables faster expansion of existing facilities. Operators benefit from high availability, greater process transparency, and the ability to scale intralogistics systems flexibly. The Best Axis delivers optimal motion and makes complex material flows manageable.
Mechatronics and Electronics: The Foundation of the Best Axis
The starting point of the axis is mechatronics. Motors, gearboxes, and their extensive accessory and mounting options are consistently tailored to the specific application. Only the right combination of torque and speed provides the foundation for reliable and efficient motion. Integrated solutions such as the Lenze m650-F, which combines motor, gearbox, and drive in a single system, reduce space requirements, weight, and installation effort.
Building on this foundation, electronics provide the required motion intelligence and flexibility. Scalable drives, integrated safety functions, open interfaces, and consistent product platforms enable powerful motion solutions for different machine concepts, from centralized installations to decentralized architectures. Examples include the decentralized i650 motec frequency inverter with integrated Logic PLC and regenerative energy feedback, as well as the i950 servo drive. Thanks to its modularity and openness, it is specifically designed for demanding multi-axis applications.
Software, AI, and Services: Turning Intelligence into Added Value
The intelligence of the axis is created through software and AI. They make complex motion tasks easier to manage, shorten engineering times, and unlock new opportunities for continuous optimization. Software connects mechanics, drives, controllers, and data into an end-to-end system, from engineering and commissioning through diagnostics, optimization, and AI-supported services. Tools such as the Lenze FAST Toolbox allow users to implement solutions faster through parameterization rather than custom programming. Open standards such as OPC UA also enable flexible integration into existing automation environments.
This approach is complemented by Lenze’s accompanying services, which ensure the performance of the Best Axis throughout its entire lifecycle. From solution consulting and co-engineering to engineering and commissioning, as well as training, remote support, repair, and modernization services, Lenze helps customers reduce risks, increase system availability, and continuously improve machine performance.
“Usability is also crucial for me,” explains Peter Sürig, Senior Vice President Portfolio & Industry Management. “How easily the solution can be implemented and operated by the customer is one of the key outcomes of the Best Axis.”
Platform Instead of a Single Product
Implementation is based on a portfolio strategy consistently focused on integration. Servo motors, frequency inverters, gearboxes, and AC motors are developed as coordinated platforms and follow common principles regarding usability, scalability, and system integration.
The interaction of these platforms creates a comprehensive motion portfolio that simplifies the selection, design, and integration of suitable drive solutions. Based on a modular system architecture, a wide range of application requirements can be covered and configured for specific needs. In this way, Lenze combines the efficiency of standardized platforms with the flexibility of customized motion solutions.
Transformation as a Strategic Framework
The Best Axis approach is the result of a comprehensive transformation. Through the P85 strategy program, Lenze is preparing for the future with the goal of becoming even closer to customers, more focused, faster, and more resilient. It is guided by a simple question: What do customers really need to make their machines more powerful?
Over many years, Lenze has continuously expanded its portfolio, from traditional drive technology to automation solutions, software, and digital offerings. At the same time, its core brand identity increasingly faded into the background. With P85, Lenze is sharpening its profile: automation, software, and digitalization remain key elements of the offering, but they are clearly repositioned as enablers of the company’s true core competence: drive technology.
“We do not want to do everything. We want to do what we do better than anyone else. Our focus is on our strength: intelligent motion control,” summarizes Dr. Marc Wucherer.
The Next Step: The Intelligent Axis
Lenze’s investment focus is clearly on research and development. With advancing digitalization and the growing possibilities of AI, the Best Axis continues to evolve. Lenze aims to further simplify the engineering, commissioning, and operation of machines while unlocking new levels of efficiency and performance. One focus area is AI- and agent-based engineering solutions that enable machine and plant builders to handle complex tasks faster and more securely. To support this, Lenze is making targeted investments in AI innovation projects.
Together with EPLAN and other industry partners, Lenze is also exploring how collaborative engineering can reduce complexity. The focus is on how technical changes, product adaptations, or software updates can be evaluated more quickly, implemented more securely, and integrated more efficiently into existing systems. For customers, this means reduced engineering effort, increased transparency, simpler update processes, and additional benefits in cybersecurity.
“In the future, axes will do far more than simply create motion,” says Dr. Marc Wucherer. “They will connect with one another, use data intelligently, and actively contribute to optimizing the overall system.”
In the long term, the axis will evolve from a motion unit into an intelligent, connected system component. Data, software, and AI provide the foundation for continuously optimizing machines throughout their lifecycle, using resources more efficiently, and further improving collaboration among all system components. The Best Axis does not stand still. It learns, assists, and evolves alongside the needs of its users.
A Shared Commitment
The Best Axis is far more than a technological objective. It serves as a guiding principle for all of Lenze. From development and production to sales and service, every area shares the commitment to making complex motion solutions easier for customers to manage. Ultimately, it is about achieving the best possible motion result for each specific application: simple, efficient, and future-ready.
Find out more: www.lenze.com
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