Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dürr AG, Dürr Systems GmbH (operating subsidiary of Dürr AG)
#ERF2025 Keynote Dr. Jochen Weyrauch (Dürr)
JOCHEN WEYRAUCH - Dürr Dr. Jochen Weyrauch (born 1966) was appointed to the Board of Management of Dürr AG on ...
About Jochen Weyrauch
At the ERF2025 conference on March 13, 2025, Dürr AG CEO Jochen Weyrauch delivered a keynote address. He described Dürr as "somewhere between a hidden champion and a traditional Swabian family heritage middle-sized company" with roughly €5 billion in turnover and 20,000 employees worldwide. Weyrauch noted that the company employs more than 1,000 software engineers and generates approximately €100 million in turnover from software, adding that Dürr is "one of the bigger software houses." Weyrauch also mentioned a forthcoming groundbreaking ceremony with Yong Wo, CEO of an unnamed partner, in Silverfing to build what he called "the world most modern paint shop in the automotive industry with more than 100 robots." He stated that Dürr is active in automotive paint shops, body-in-white gluing, final assembly, woodworking machines, and balancing equipment for aircraft engines.
Transcript (7 segments)
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Host0:03
All right. Thank you very much. Good evening everybody. Hope you're well. That's the highlight of the conference. It's the Mercedes Dürr, or should I say Dürr Mercedes dinner. Just kidding obviously. I hope you had exciting days, two days. And you will have this evening a lot of time to discuss what you have probably seen in the last two days. I hope this evening is also a start for a new era in terms of robotics, because we have so many clever people here from industry and from science. If you see what's going on all over the world in terms of robotics, we just have to have your creativity and your ideas to get to the next level, and that's what I hope will come out of this dinner as well. I'm very glad to have Jochen Weyrauch here, the CEO of Dürr, because we both have a groundbreaking ceremony next week in Sindelfingen, where we probably build the world's most modern paint shop in the automotive industry with more than 100 robots. We're very much looking forward to that, and this will be another cornerstone to make Germany and especially Baden-Württemberg fit for the future. So glad to have you as a partner not only in the paint shop but also tonight. We are very glad to have the opportunity to host you tonight, and then I give over the word to you.
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Jochen Weyrauch1:53
Thank you very much, Jük. As a supplier, you are enjoying this picture. Us next to the most prestigious car producer in the world is something. Let's enjoy it for a moment. Can we talk about the price again? The contract is signed. No, isn't it? But we'll do our best, and the best will be good enough. As Jük said, we've been working together on this project in a different model by a strategic partnership. We worked almost two years before we even came to a contract to develop the most sustainable paint shop. It's a totally different approach to the typical auctioning of a project. We're proud to be part of it. I'm proud to be part of tonight. A few facts: the European Robotics Forum for the first time in Germany, more than 50 workshops, over 1,500 visitors, the largest so far, more than 40 countries. More than 75 sponsors, fully booked out. It's a great success. The people behind the event deserve a special hand: Dr. Ben Leipert and his team for the general organization, and Vanna Krauss as general chair of ERF 2025. Let's give them a hand. To support what Jük said, it is very important to meet and gain strength together. It's easy to sit here and be scared and confused, but this continent, this country, this region has all the means to compete, create innovations, and be successful if we get our act together. I'm very optimistic. Wish you a very nice evening.
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Host5:39
It's our honor that our lord mayor also is with us, together with his wife. Great. As we heard, we had a big sponsorship from Mercedes and Dürr. Despite inflation, we kept ticket prices constant. Because of their early commitment, we could have this wonderful location. Please give a big applause for our citizens and thank you for your support. You were the first people we approached for support of the European Robotics Forum. That gave us the commitment to bring the forum to Stuttgart. This is especially important in these economic challenging times. Some of you visited Factory 56 at the Mercedes plant, one of the most modern in the world. Zara Gilan, the plant manager of Sindelfingen, is with us. We already had a keynote from Jochen yesterday about Apollo, which led to lots of discussions. I was impressed by the progress. Now we would like to have a second keynote, a dinner speech from Dr. Weyrauch, CEO of Dürr Group. He has been on the board for eight years, chairman for three years. Dürr focuses on the niche of coating, and about half of that market is by Dürr. We look forward to insights into what Dürr is doing in robotics. Dr. Weyrauch, stage is yours.
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Jochen Weyrauch10:20
The advertising part of the speech: a few numbers about the group. We are a hidden champion, somewhere between a hidden champion and a traditional Swabian family heritage mid-cap company, roughly 5 billion euros turnover and 20,000 employees worldwide. Good geographical distribution. We are not only in automotive paint shops but also body-in-white and final assembly. In factory 56, you'll see Dürr logos. We are also world market leader in woodworking machines. And the Schenck business: nine out of ten aircraft engines are balanced on Schenck equipment. We have a new division BBS for production automation, e.g., machines producing weight-reducing pens at 500-600 units per minute. It's all about automation.
Now let's look at the innovation path in painting. Traditional overspray painting: robot moves paint atomizer along object with consistent quality. Transfer efficiency improved from 30% overspray to below 20%. Next step: EcoPaintJet, first overspray-free application. High edge definition, accurate to a few tenths of a millimeter. Perfect for contrast roofs, no masking needed. Every painting path is calculated individually because each car body has tolerances. The robot teaches itself using laser sensors and cameras. This is in serial production.
Next generation: EcoNextJet, introduced weeks ago. Perfect for individualization. It can print anything on horizontal or vertical surfaces. The robot automatically adapts to the task. First trials promising, in touch with first customers.
Next level: our robotics project with partners. Even though paint robots are a niche, sustainability and efficiency are key. With data generated over years, we are launching a new approach where robots teach themselves using perception and AI. This will improve efficiency and sustainability.
In closing: it's all about talent. We attract talent in the Stuttgart area. Innovation must be based on a clear vision. We redeveloped our vision with young talent: it's all about automation and sustainability. Dürr Group: sustainable automation. That's the little insight I wanted to give tonight. Thank you very much. We're grateful to be partners of this event. Let's enjoy a nice and relaxed evening.
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Host20:02
Thank you, Dr. Weyrauch. May I have one question that might be burning under the nails? You've shown us what a high-tech company we have here around the corner. It's half an hour, or 20 minutes depending on the car. With my EQS it's less than 20 minutes. Some of the participants would like to know: what kind of talents are you seeking, or what properties or key values would you like to see?
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Jochen Weyrauch20:51
We are looking for both traditional mechanical talent, but even more now everything around electrics, electronics, software. Dürr employs more than 1,000 software engineers, making us one of the bigger software houses. We generate roughly 100 million euros in turnover with software. You see that traditional mechanical engineering companies are using more possibilities up to artificial intelligence. Some paint jobs are already based on models we apply and sell. Attracting talents is okay right now. We have a nice mix of being not too big so that everyone is recognized, but still very international, offering the possibility to develop in different parts of the world.
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Host22:14
All right. Thank you, Dr. Weyrauch.