German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (center) and Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (left) look at the Flender app on the smartphone ofFlender CEO Andreas Evertz. Digital intelligence makes the transmission transparent and delivers live data and recommendations for action directly to the app.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the booth of drive specialist Flender as part of his opening tour of Hannover Messe 2025. Together with the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, and the Canadian Ambassador to the EU, Stéphane Dion, the Chancellor gained an insight into the digital transformation of the Bocholt- based company and its contribution to strengthening Germany’s competitiveness as an industrial location. Thanks to the complete digitalization of the engineering process and the use of AI, Flender is now able to achieve what was previously considered impossible: A fully individualized, tailor-made gearbox that can be configured in just five clicks – “as fast as checking out on Amazon,” as Andreas Evertz, CEO of the Flender Group, describes it.
Evertz showed the high-ranking guests how Flender, a mechanical engineering company, has made the transition to a digital company. The focus was on the gearbox intelligence AIQ, with which Evertz demonstrated live on his smartphone how Flender makes gearboxes “transparent”. The Chancellor was able to see how customers can monitor the condition of their drives at any time while on the road, read operating data in real time, and how the system automatically recognizes and displays the relevant component in the transmission in the event of impending damage. Customers receive proactive recommendations for service or maintenance long before a failure can occur.
Chancellor Scholz was impressed by the company’s innovative strength and interested in the customization of drive solutions. Thanks to complete digitalization, Flender is able to manufacture tailor-made gearboxes for each individual application with the efficiency of series production. A revolution in drive technology.
One day after the Chancellor, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck also visited the Flender booth. Together, Habeck and Flender have pushed the expansion of wind energy in recent years. “Germany is now a pioneer in the expansion of wind energy in Europe and a leader in the approval of new wind projects. We would like to thank you and your ministry for this. In recent years, you have always listened to our concerns and supported the needs of the industry.
Together we have achieved a great deal,” Evertz said.
In addition to industrial drives, Flender is one of the world’s leading suppliers of wind energy. As a symbol of the good cooperation, Evertz presented the Minister of Economic Affairs with a giant wrench from the Flender gear assembly plant. During his last visit to Flender, Habeck had enthusiastically held the wrench in his hands and lent a hand in the assembly department.
At Hannover Messe, Flender is showing how its AIQ technology makes gearboxes intelligent. Every Flender One gearbox comes standard with AIQ, an intelligent sensor system connected to the cloud. This predictive maintenance solution can reduce unplanned downtime by up to 70% and maintenance costs by up to 40%.
Most impressively, data analysis showed that industrial gearboxes were previously oversized by an average of 50%. Precise dimensioning by Flender One not only saves material and energy but also makes Flender’s products more attractive in terms of price in the global competition, without compromising on quality.
“In a way, we have become a Google for industrial data,” explains Evertz. The collected operating data from all industries enables proactive service and targeted optimization recommendations – often before the customer even recognizes the potential for improvement. The semi-transparent drive exhibit gave Chancellor Scholz and others a live experience of how the AIQ sensor technology works.
“Not knowing the actual loads in operation is a thing of the past. Thanks to our digitalization strategy, we can now supply customized gear units, save resources and make our customers faster, more flexible and more efficient. By combining mechanics with sensor technology and digital services, we are setting new standards in drive technology,” Evertz told the high-ranking visitors.
Germany as a business location and its competitiveness in the global environment was also a recurring theme at the fair. For Andreas Evertz, digital transformation and the innovations presented in Hannover are the key to the future: “For us, digital transformation is not an end in itself, but the key to greater competitiveness – for us and our customers. We have digitalized and automated every process – from the first customer contact, through engineering and production, to operation in the plant. This allows us to create drive solutions that are precisely tailored to the application and make our customers more successful and efficient. With innovation, we are creating the much-needed spirit of optimism for industry in Germany and Europe.”
This press release and press pictures are available at www.flender.com/company/press.
Flender thanked the Chancellor by presenting him with a wind turbine as a symbol of the German government’s success in expanding wind energy.
Federal Minister of Economics Habeck receives an XXL wrench from Flender assembly as a thank you for his commitment. Carolin Wilmink (right) and Nina Steinbrink (left) presented the wrench on behalf of the Flender trainees, who had engraved a personal dedication for the minister.
In Hanover, the drive manufacturer is showing how it is creating competitive advantages for its customers as a pioneer of digital transformation. Previously impossible: by completely digitizing the engineering process, Flender builds fully individualized, tailor-made gearboxes that can be configured in just five clicks – “as fast as checking out at Amazon”.
