Beckhoff Automation

What is Beckhoff?

Beckhoff Automation is a family-owned German company from Verl that supplies industrial automation based on PC-based control: control software that runs on an industrial PC rather than on a separate PLC processor. The company developed the TwinCAT automation platform and the EtherCAT real-time network, and also supplies I/O, servo drives, HMI panels, safety technology and transport systems. This makes Beckhoff one of the clearest examples of software-defined automation, and therefore of OT convergence in machine building.

🧠 Who is Beckhoff and where does the company come from?

Hans Beckhoff founded the company in 1980 in Verl, in East Westphalia, Germany. He is still its founder and managing director; Beckhoff is a financially independent, family-owned company with no stock market listing. In 2025 Beckhoff reported global sales of 1.24 billion euros, 6% more than in 2024. In early 2026 it employed around 5,450 people, about 2,000 of them engineers, and it invests roughly 80 million euros a year in research and development. Beckhoff is active in more than 75 countries, with 41 international subsidiaries and representative offices.

Its history shows that Beckhoff bet on the PC early, long before that became common in industrial automation:

⚙️ What is PC-based control and how does it differ from a classic PLC?

With PC-based control, control logic runs as software on an industrial PC. A real-time kernel alongside the operating system provides deterministic tasks, while the same hardware can also run an HMI, a database or analytics software. On multicore PCs, TwinCAT reserves dedicated processor cores so that Windows processes cannot disturb the control tasks. The principle is also known as a Soft PLC.

The benefits are computing power, a single engineering environment and easy data integration. The drawback is that a Beckhoff controller partly behaves like an IT system: patch management, hardening and operating-system version control matter just as much as the PLC program itself.

🔧 Which products and technologies does Beckhoff supply?

Beckhoff covers the entire control chain, from terminal to software:

TwinCAT

TwinCAT (The Windows Control and Automation Technology) is the core of the portfolio. TwinCAT 3 supports the IEC 61131-3 languages, including Structured Text, ladder diagram and Function Block Diagram, complemented by C/C++ and MATLAB/Simulink. Its PLC editor was historically built on CODESYS technology. Engineering, runtime and external applications communicate through Beckhoff’s own ADS protocol; OPC UA and MQTT are available for connecting other systems.

EtherCAT

Beckhoff introduced EtherCAT in 2003 and soon handed its stewardship to the independent EtherCAT Technology Group. The protocol processes frames on the fly as they pass through devices and synchronises axes using distributed clocks. As a result, cycle times of a few tens of microseconds and very low jitter are achievable. EtherCAT is standardised in IEC 61158 and supported by many other vendors, so an EtherCAT network is not tied to Beckhoff.

🏭 Where is Beckhoff used?

Beckhoff is strong in OEM machine building, particularly where many axes must be synchronised precisely. Typical sectors:

• Packaging and food - high-speed packaging lines with dozens of servo axes
• Semiconductors and electronics - precision positioning with low latency
• Automotive and assembly - production lines with robotics and XTS transport
• Intralogistics - conveyors and sorting systems
• Building automation - HVAC, lighting and energy management
• Energy - control of wind turbines and energy storage
• Machine tools - CNC control with TwinCAT

In the Purdue Model, Beckhoff components mainly sit at levels 0 to 2: terminals and drives at the field level, the TwinCAT runtime as the controller at level 1 and TwinCAT HMI or a SCADA system at level 2. Data then flows through OPC UA, MQTT or TwinCAT IoT to MES, historians and cloud platforms at level 3 and above. Because a single IPC can combine all these roles, the boundaries between levels blur faster than with classic PLC architectures.

🛡️ How does Beckhoff support functional safety?

With TwinSAFE (since 2005), Beckhoff integrates safety technology into the I/O system. Safe input and output terminals and TwinSAFE logic communicate through Safety over EtherCAT (FSoE) on the same network as the standard process data, using the black channel principle. TwinSAFE components are suitable for applications up to SIL 3 according to IEC 61508 and PL e according to ISO 13849-1.

For the machine builder the standards remain decisive: ISO 13849 and IEC 62061 for designing safety functions, and from 20 January 2027 the Machinery Regulation, which replaces the Machinery Directive. IEC 61511 applies to the process industry, where Beckhoff is used less often than systems from process automation vendors. See also functional safety.

🔐 How do you secure a Beckhoff environment?

Because a Beckhoff controller is a PC, its threat landscape resembles that of IT: Ransomware, unpatched Windows installations, misuse of remote access and lateral movement from the office network. TwinCAT HMI is browser-based (HTML5), so web attacks and credential misuse are part of the threat picture too. One specific point of attention is ADS: classic ADS (TCP 48898) is unencrypted, whereas Secure ADS (from TwinCAT 3.1 Build 4024) uses TLS.

Beckhoff publishes vulnerabilities in its own security advisories and through CERT@VDE, and offers an IPC Security Guideline with hardening advice for Windows and TwinCAT/BSD.

For manufacturers placing machines with Beckhoff control on the EU market, the Cyber Resilience Act also applies: reporting obligations from 11 September 2026 and full application from 11 December 2027. End users that fall under the Dutch Cybersecurity Act must include the risks of such systems in their duty of care. Use IEC 62443, Defense in Depth and Zero Trust as the design framework.

🧪 How do you integrate a Beckhoff machine securely into the plant?

Take a high-speed packaging machine with an Embedded PC, EtherCAT I/O, twenty servo axes and a web HMI. A practical approach:

1. Take inventory - record the TwinCAT build, OS version, installed TwinCAT Functions and open ports in the asset inventory.
2. Segment - place the machine in its own zone with a single controlled conduit to the plant network.
3. Restrict protocols - allow only OPC UA or MQTT upwards; ADS only encrypted and only from engineering workstations.
4. Control vendor access - remote maintenance through a managed gateway with MFA and logging, not through a permanent VPN on the IPC.
5. Test updates - validate Windows and TwinCAT updates in a simulation or staging environment and record this in the FAT and SAT.
6. Manage the lifecycle - plan OS replacement and hardware obsolescence; a machine often runs for 15 to 20 years, a Windows version for much less.

📈 What role does Beckhoff play in IT/OT convergence?

Beckhoff brings IT technology directly into the control layer of OT and industrial control systems: standard processors, virtualisation, Visual Studio, edge computing and cloud connectivity. That fits Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things: the same IPC controls the machine and supplies data for predictive maintenance, a digital twin or AI applications. Integration in line with ISA-95 is therefore easier than with closed PLC platforms, and scalability comes from choosing a faster PC.

There are challenges too: more cybersecurity risk, more complex lifecycle management, monitoring of real-time stability and compliance with standards such as IEC 62443 and NIST SP 800-82. Compared with Siemens or Rockwell Automation, Beckhoff demands more IT knowledge from the maintenance team, but it also offers more freedom.

❓ Frequently asked questions

Is Beckhoff a PLC supplier?

Beckhoff supplies PLC functionality, but not as a separate hardware PLC. Control runs as TwinCAT software on a Beckhoff industrial PC or Embedded PC. Functionally such a system does the same as a PLC, and often more, such as motion control and HMI on the same device.

Do I need Beckhoff hardware to use EtherCAT?

No, EtherCAT is an open standard that Beckhoff introduced in 2003 and that is managed by the EtherCAT Technology Group. The ETG has thousands of member companies, and other controllers, such as CODESYS-based systems, can also act as EtherCAT master. Beckhoff is, however, the best-known supplier of EtherCAT I/O.

Does a Beckhoff controller always run on Windows?

No. TwinCAT runs on Windows, including Windows 10/11 IoT Enterprise, but also on TwinCAT/BSD, a FreeBSD-based operating system from Beckhoff, and, since 2024, on Beckhoff RT Linux, a Debian-based distribution with a Linux real-time kernel. Under Windows and TwinCAT/BSD the real-time control runs in its own TwinCAT real-time layer alongside the operating system.

How big is Beckhoff Automation?

Beckhoff Automation reported sales of 1.24 billion euros in 2025 and employed around 5,450 people in early 2026. The family-owned company from Verl is active in more than 75 countries. Founder Hans Beckhoff has led the company since 1980.

Is a Beckhoff IPC more vulnerable than a classic PLC?

A Beckhoff IPC has a larger attack surface than a PLC with proprietary firmware because of its general-purpose operating system. With segmentation, hardening according to Beckhoff’s IPC Security Guideline, Secure ADS and consistent patch management, the risk is well manageable. Classic PLCs also have vulnerabilities that require patches.

Where can I find Beckhoff security advisories?

Beckhoff publishes security advisories for its products on its own website and through CERT@VDE, the German coordination platform for industrial vulnerabilities. They include the relevant CVE numbers and mitigations. Add this source to the vulnerability management process of your OT environment.

📌 In summary

Beckhoff Automation turns the industrial PC into a machine controller: with TwinCAT and EtherCAT, a single platform combines PLC, motion control, safety, HMI and data integration. That makes Beckhoff powerful and flexible for machine building and IT/OT convergence, but it also demands IT discipline: segmentation, hardening, patch management and deliberate lifecycle management belong in every Beckhoff installation.