On Wednesday at the sps ipc drives 2014 trade fair in Nuremberg, the trade journal "elektrotechnik" awarded the best company apps in automation for the third time. For the first time this year, the prize was awarded in four categories: Corporate, Catalog, Engineering and Production. The winners are ThermoFisher, ACE shock absorbers (Langenfeld), Cadenas (Augsburg) and Krones (Neutraubling).



The jury evaluated the apps according to usability, security, relevance and utility value as well as the originality of the app and created a shortlist from this. 80,000 votes were cast in the online voting on elektrotechnik.de and via other specialist media from Vogel Business Media. The winners in the individual categories were determined from the online voting, the user ratings in the respective store and the judgment of the expert jury. The winners of the four categories are the apps with the best overall results from the three equally weighted partial results.



"Corporate" category: ThermoFisher with the "Thermo Fisher Lynx" app, submitted by the Macio GmbH agency, 24106 Kiel, Germany

Jury statement: The classic app for sales support presents itself in a very user-friendly way and is therefore easy to use. It is used for product presentation and shows how to deal with the topic of centrifuge control in practice. The jury particularly appreciated the clear presentation of the simulation of laboratory centrifuges. The operability of the centrifuge can thus be experienced directly, regardless of location.



"Engineering" category: ACE Stoßdämpfer GmbH with the "VibroChecker" app, 40764 Langenfeld

Jury statement: Utility and originality. These were the most important arguments for our jury when choosing the VibroChecker. It is therefore the winner in the Engineering category. The special feature of the app is that it uses the iPhone's motion sensor to easily measure vibrations on machines and systems. An additional sensor is not required, an iPhone alone is enough.



"Catalog" category: CADENAS GmbH with the "PARTCommunity" app, 86153 Augsburg, Germany

Jury statement: Find and download! What sounds so simple is also so easy in practice. Because the app offers access to components from over 400 catalogs, the bid doesn't have to search for long. The jury was unanimous in its verdict: successful usability. This also includes the Sketch Search function. With this innovative feature, the user roughly sketches the part they are looking for and thus narrows down the selection of relevant components considerably. It then takes no time at all to find the right component.



Shortlisted in the "Production" category: Krones AG with the "Krones Mobile Line Assistant" app, 93073 Neutraubling, Germany

Jury statement: Rarely has the jury been so unanimous in its assessments as with the Mobile Line Assistant app from Krones. With it, plant personnel practically have an expert system in their pocket that they can always have with them. The operator receives his fault messages in a targeted and customized manner. The logic does not leave the operator alone, but provides him with the relevant information for solving the problem. For the operating personnel, this means real added value in practice.



"elektrotechnik AUTOMATISIERUNG" reports on the entire automation technology value chain. www.elektrotechnik.de reports daily on industry trends, new products and technical applications in automation.

The parent company Vogel Business Media is Germany's largest trade media company with 100+ trade journals, 100+ web portals, 100+ business events as well as numerous mobile offerings and international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg.