Finding solutions to organizational and technological challenges, particularly within the production environment of industrial enterprises. That, in a nutshell, is the key focus of the research and development work carried out at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. With 14 individual departments engaged in the fields of Corporate Organization, Automation and Surface Engineering, our R&D projects aim to enhance production processes and make products more cost-effective and environmentally friendly by identifying and exploiting the potential for automation and streamlining at clients’ companies. This helps to strengthen their international competitiveness. The Fraunhofer IPA was founded in 1959 and incorporated in the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in 1971. Of the 57 institutes that make up this prestigious research organization, the Fraunhofer IPA is one of the largest single institutes, employing around 200 scientists. It has an annual budget of approximately 36 million euros, with 50 percent of its revenue stemming from industrial projects.