History

Gebhard Balluff founds his mechanical repair shop for bicycles, motorcycles and sewing machines in Neuhausen, which develops into a company for precision turned and milled parts.

Gebhard Balluff hands over the management of the company to his son-in-law Eduard Hermle.

Balluff becomes a factory for precision mechanical products and produces, among other items. DIN L 85 turnbuckles as well as spring winders.

Balluff brings the Spaetzle press into its production line.

Balluff produces rocker arms, stub axles, shift levers and engine parts for the automotive industry.

The Gebrüder Heller Maschinenfabrik GmbH company in Nürtingen is looking for a partner to manufacture small components. The resulting cam switch is the company's first own sensor on its way to becoming a solution provider in industrial automation.

From mechanical to electronic: development of the non-contact, electronic proximity sensor.

Creation of the first international subsidiary, Balluff Austria in Vienna – the first step towards expansion of the international distribution network.

New factory built in Neuhausen on the Filder: Modern, spacious buildings created for development, production and management.

Beginning of production for BOS optoelectronic sensors: Balluff sensors can now detect objects even at greater distances and made of materials other than metal.

Brothers Klaus and Rolf Hermle assumed leadership as the third generation of the family-owned company. Until the death of Klaus in 1987, the brothers worked together to grow the company internationally and expand the product portfolio.

Creation of the subsidiary Nihon Balluff Japan as the first branch in Asia for local production and sales.

Creation of presences in North America and Brazil for better on-site customer support and strategic marketing.

Beginning of production for BIS industrial RFID systems: The identification systems are a combination of data carrier, read/write head and processor unit.

Non-contact, wear-free and robust position measurement. Position determination is based on the innovative principle of sound propagation time measurement of a waveguide.

Beginning of production for Trans-sonar displacement sensors: A further development of the BTL Micropulse displacement sensor.

BAW inductive analog sensor

Creation of Balluff Electronika KFT in Hungary. The global production network grows.

Safe and wear-free position detection on all pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders. Production start of BMF magnetic field sensors: competence expansion in the field of magnetic field sensors.

Incremental rotary encoder BDG series

75 years of Balluff. The company grows internationally - with subsidiaries in Switzerland, Italy and the Czech Republic as well as sales offices in Singapore and China.

Balluff opens a new logistics center and a modernized manufacturing facility in Neuhausen. Beginning of production for BES Super Shorties: Expansion of expertise in the field of mini-sensor systems.

Balluff develops its first own vision sensor together with a partner company.

Linear and rotary displacement measurement - absolute and incremental - with resolutions down to 1 μm and measuring ranges up to 48 m.

BMS universal mounting system for mounting and precise positioning of Balluff sensors and devices.

Introduction of IO-Link as the first standardized digital interface at the sensor/actuator level and as an enabler for the Industrial Internet of Things.

With the new production site in China, Balluff further expands its market position in Asia with a focus on China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan.

Introduction of the first IO-Link hubs as a link between the existing discrete sensor technology and the advantages of the new IO-Link technology.

Balluff expands its own portfolio in the area of capacitive sensors by integrating SIE Sensorik Industrie Elektronik in Viernheim.

First RFID read/write heads with IO-Link interface on the market

Market revolution of the first IP67 unmanaged Ethernet switches with Profinet and Ethernet/IP

Market revolution with the first integrated display unit in an Ethernet networking module for setting and diagnosis of the device.

Inductive coupler for contactless power and data transmission

Generation change: Rolf Hermle hands over the management of the company to his children Katrin Stegmaier-Hermle and Florian Hermle as well as the technical managing director Michael Unger.

Introduction of the first IO-Link converters with the aim of adapting existing analog or discrete systems to IO-Link.

1 Controller for 4 RFID Technologies

Market launch of the first signal lights fully configurable via IO-Link for machine condition monitoring and for visualization of sensor signals including additional functions such as running light or signal horn

Development partnership with image processing specialist Matrix Vision

Strengthening of miniaturization competence for very small optical sensors

Own distribution in Australia and New Zealand. With its overall portfolio, Balluff has become a pacesetter for Industry 4.0.

Establishment of the new subsidiaries in Turkey, Korea and Thailand.

Further development of the brand identity. The company slogan "sensors worldwide" becomes "innovating automation".

Balluff enters the market as a new player with the Safety Hub. The approach is based on software instead of hardware.

UHF Antenna for BIS V Family

Magnetic Encoded Absolute Displacement Encoder with IO-Link Interface BML SL1

Entry into Machine Vision Solutions with BVS Cockpit and SmartCamera - Combination

Portfolio expansion through the integration of Matrix Vision

Balluff bundles its own software expertise in the Balluff Softwarehouse.

Balluff integrates the software company iss innovative software services into the Group, thus strengthening its own software expertise.

Vision Controller with BVS Cockpit: vision system with customer-friendly operability and multiple, high-resolution cameras

Introduction of Easy Tool-ID with RFID

The multifunctional sensor provides condition data on vibration, temperature, humidity and ambient pressure

Compact and accurate displacement measurement system for cylinder applications BMP01

Subsidiary India established

Managing director Michael Unger moves to the advisory board. His successor will be Frank Nonnenmann. With his many years of experience in the supply chain management of global industrial companies, he will from now on be responsible for the Supply Chain and Machine & Plant Engineering divisions. Katrin Stegmaier-Hermle becomes Spokeswoman of the Management Board.

Small project teams develop new business models according to the Lean Startup method with a focus on value-added combinations of software and hardware.

Balluff offers the most comprehensive networking portfolio on the market with its total of eight different fieldbus variants (PNT/EIP/ECT/CCL/CIE/CIB/PBS/DNT).

Foundation of the subsidiary Malaysia

After many years of specification and development work, Balluff presents the first standardized IO-Link wireless system on the market.

The first pure software product from Balluff is launched. The Balluff Engineering Tool supports the manufacturer-independent commissioning and configuration of IO-Link devices.

Software function expansion through license sale

Next generation digital position display: Intuitive. Washdown-capable. With extended IO-Link functionality.

Introduction of embedded vision platform under the Matrix Vision brand.

Balluff celebrates 100th anniversary

Introduction of condition monitoring solution CMTK

First UHF read/write head with IO-Link interface on the market

Introduction of 3D stereo camera - innovative, powerful and smart

Foundation of the production site in Aguascalientes, Mexico

Introduction of BVS Ident Sensor

BNI Next Generation Hub and Master

Brand Change Matrix Vision: Transfer of Matrix Vision brand to Balluff brand