🎙 Guest: Thomas Beninger – Managing Director at AutoLab Next Automation GMBH
🎧 Episode Title: Pushing Boundaries In Automation

🚀 Episode Summary:

In this episode of Machine Builder Talk, I sit down with Thomas Benninger from AutoLab Next Automation GMBH in Austria - a forward-thinking automation leader with deep roots in machine building and a passion for vision systems, AI, and rethinking how automation teams work.

Thomas shares his journey from growing up in his father’s production company to driving innovation in structured text PLC programming, machine vision, and flexible automation systems. We dive into how AI is shaping modern inspection solutions, the shifting mindset around digital twins, and what it really takes to build a company culture that welcomes new ideas and continuous change.

From technical conversations around structured text and vision-guided quality control, to higher-level topics like evolving standards and designing for flexibility, Thomas brings a thoughtful perspective to what the future of automation should look like—and how to get there one system at a time.

💡 Key Takeaways:

✔️ Why structured text in PLC programming is gaining traction—and how it enables scalable, future-ready code
✔️ The growing role of machine vision and AI in replacing traditional inspection systems
✔️ Fostering a culture of innovation: Why you can’t automate what you don’t question
✔️ Digital twins, simulation, and the importance of modeling machines before metal hits the floor
✔️ Designing machines with modularity and flexibility in mind - today’s standards won’t cut it tomorrow
✔️ Embracing industry change: How to stay relevant as tools, codebases, and expectations shift
✔️ Building a future-ready company: The mindset (and systems) needed to thrive in constant transformation
✔️ How Thomas’s background in hands-on production shaped his leadership approach in automation

Whether you’re deep in the weeds of control logic or thinking about your company’s long-term trajectory, this episode offers a grounded yet forward-looking perspective on the tools, mindsets, and innovations driving the next wave of machine building.

Grab a coffee, lean in, and let this episode challenge how you think about automation - because standing still isn’t an option.