Frankfurt, 28 October 2025 – Dr. Michael Jürgens, CEO of KUKA Robotics, is a new member of the Board of the VDMA Robotics + Automation Association.
"Germany and Europe must pick up speed in robotics-based automation: in particular, the increased use of artificial intelligence will enable growth and make a sustainable contribution to the competitiveness of our region. We must also leverage the potential of new applications in industries that have been less automated to date. I look forward to actively contributing to the VDMA Robotics + Automation Executive Board to advance these important topics," said Dr. Michael Jürgens about his new role.
With this appointment, Dr. Michael Jürgens succeeds Wilfried Eberhardt (formerly Vice President Governmental Affairs at KUKA AG), who resigned from the R+A Board in conformance with association statutory requirements. At the VDMA European Robotics and Automation Summit in Bologna in October 2025, Wilfried Eberhardt was honoured for his longstanding and intensive commitment to the Board and further VDMA committees.
The VDMA represents 3600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation and SMEs. The companies employ around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. In the European Union, it represents a turnover volume of an estimated 870 billion euros. Around 80 percent of the machinery sold in the EU comes from a manufacturing plant in the domestic market.
The VDMA Robotics + Automation Association (VDMA R+A) is a trade association within the umbrella of the VDMA with more than 415 member companies: Suppliers of components and systems from the fields of robotics, automated solutions and machine vision. The aim of this industry-driven platform is to support robotics and automation through a wide range of activities and services. Key activities include statistical analysis and market surveys, marketing activities, standards development, public relations, research, trend studies, trade fair policy as well as networking events and conferences.