Research and Development

NORMA Group’s research and development activities are aimed at identifying technological trends at an early stage and addressing them in a targeted manner. This is intended to best support the achievement of the Company’s strategic goals. The focus is on developing new products and system solutions in order to tap into new markets and customer groups in the best possible way. NORMA Group assesses new technologies according to the extent to which they help to optimize current processes, minimize the use of materials or further improve the functionalities and sustainability of the end products. NORMA Group’s goal is to generate added value for its customers. The focus is on innovative and high-quality solutions to the global challenges of the respective end markets. In the 2024 fiscal year, these included the topics of digitalization, stationary energy storage systems and hydrogen as an alternative energy source, in addition to electromobility and water management. Efficient use of resources and environmental protection play an important role alongside specific market and customer requirements.

As a Group function, the R&D departments equally support the strategic business units Industry Applications and Mobility & New Energy as well as the Water Management unit. This enables optimized cross-regional cooperation between the teams and close integration of development activities with the business development teams (sales and application engineering). The distinct global focus of the business units enables more targeted and efficient working on the tasks that lie ahead. At the same time, tasks and projects continue to be prioritized in line with strategic requirements, by the Innovation Council and Global Product Management, for example.

Focus on innovations

The focus of NORMA Group’s research and development activities is on retaining and strengthening the Company’s innovative strength. Innovative technologies, solutions and products are the foundation of NORMA Group. The focus therefore remains on the systematic planning and implementation of new and further development projects. The so-called Foresight Manager and Global Product Management are jointly responsible for monitoring the strategic end markets and bundling the knowledge gained in the internal innovation management process.

NORMA Group further continued and optimized the above-described concept of innovation, research and (product) development in fiscal year 2024. The process from a product idea through concept development to the design concretization phase was rethought. Interfaces to manufacturing engineering and product industrialization have been redefined. The solutions and approaches developed have been incorporated into organizational adjustments within the R&D teams and will also be used in subsequent years. NORMA Group aims to generate added value through increased efficiency in product development. In detail, the consistent use of technologies such as numerical simulation and the close exchange between product experts within the entire global R&D organization are intended to achieve improved consistency with the help of a reduced number of interfaces and shorter development times (“time-to-market”).

Numerical simulation and validation of new technologies

NORMA GROUP is committed to including future-driven technologies identified on the basis of the global megatrends into the development and design of new products. Mathematical models and numerical simulations play a key role in the early development phases for the efficient development and optimization of new product concepts. In addition to theoretical-technical investigations (known as verification), the respective concepts are also subjected to subsequent extensive physical tests (known as validation). The new perspective on the physical mechanisms opened up by simulation improves our understanding of our products and processes. This enables more targeted and efficient product development and optimization. This allows the required development times to be optimized. The number of experimental optimization loops required, including the time needed for prototyping and testing in the laboratory, can thus be reduced. The final experimental validation of new products ideally confirms the product properties previously determined via simulation. This simulation serves to safeguard that the investigated products, technologies, materials and manufacturing processes meet the needs of the market.

Strategic cooperation with customers and research institutions

Within the Industry Applications strategic business unit, the requirements of NORMA Group’s customers focus on high quality, a strong brand image and the availability of products in a largely complete range at all times. Traditionally, activities in Industry Applications addressed the retail segment in 2024. A new approach for NORMA Group is also the increased inclusion of the individualized product aspect. The focus is shifting more strongly to specific customer requirements. Recognizing and understanding the respective customer applications results in potential for optimizing the existing product portfolio and also creates potential new impetus. NORMA Group also aims to develop new product lines adapted to individual customer needs and new market requirements.

The strategic business unit Mobility & New Energy is characterized by the fact that NORMA Group works closely with its end customers, leading research and development institutions, suppliers and other external partners. Customer requirements can thus be incorporated directly into the development of new products and technologies. In the 2024 fiscal year, activities focused primarily on customer-specific fluid-handling solutions. For competitive reasons, the Company refrains from publishing the specific contents of these development partnerships.

In the business unit Water Management, NORMA Group maintains close contact with its distributors, end customers, installers, trading and construction companies, as well as regulatory authorities, due to the wide range of standards, varying regulatory requirements and best practices. By doing so, differentiated product solutions can be developed to serve local market needs.

Development focuses in 2024

In the 2024 fiscal year, the focus of product development and product enhancement was determined by the trend topics of sustainability, mobility, digitalization and globalization.

In the Industry Applications strategic business unit, the area of alternative energy generation and storage is a key trend. The first successes were already announced in 2024. This includes, for example, the equipment for a cooling system for an energy storage facility in Germany. NORMA Group’s products support the temperature control of stationary batteries. Other fields of application in industry and adapted product application areas, including the “white goods” area, were also addressed in the 2024 fiscal year. For example, NORMA Group has developed a custom-made TORRO metal clamp for a household goods manufacturer in the USA for use in dishwashers. A new combination of the clamp band developed and manufactured in Europe and a screw based on the Anglo-American measurement system was designed for the order. This is an example of NORMA Group’s new approach

to Industry Applications, which shows how new business can be established directly with manufacturers of machinery and equipment from various industries in addition to the traditional distribution channels via distributors. The Group’s focus is on using its development expertise to continuously acquire new customers in relevant markets and expand its market position in the Industry Applications business in the medium term.

Thermal management of batteries and systems remains a key issue in the electromobility field within the Mobility & New Energy strategic business unit. For example, NORMA Group is developing special line systems that are used in thermal management systems for hybrid and electric vehicles, where they ensure even temperature distribution in the battery and maintain the optimal operating state of the cells. The consistent use of numerical simulation has been instrumental here in developing fluid components and systems with the lowest flow resistances and thus maximized efficiency and resource conservation. In addition, innovations in 2024 focused on the goal of market and technology leadership. Alongside to new product solutions, significant work was also done on the transfer of existing product concepts between the individual strategic business units of NORMA Group. In 2024, the Company entered the new heat pump application segment and increased its business with original equipment manufacturers. The continuous improvement of products based on the aspects of efficiency, standardization, robustness, resource conservation and weight reduction is constantly taken into account. NORMA Group also continues to be active in the field of fuel cells and supplies line systems and fastening elements here. In this environment, further projects are underway to help prepare the Company’s current and new product solutions for use in fuel cell technology. Examples of this include the development of components made from special plastic grades that meet new customer requirements for hydrogen line systems.

In the Water Management strategic business unit, research and development activities focused on market-oriented, innovative solutions for the efficient and sustainable use of water. The development of new products and technologies was geared towards increasing requirements in the areas of user-friendliness, sustainability and digitalization. Thanks to comprehensive internal expertise and close cooperation with customers, sales partners and authorities, the existing product portfolio was adapted to market requirements and supplemented with innovative new developments. One example of a development in the 2024 fiscal year is a reusable clamp connector for irrigation applications, which makes an important contribution to conserving resources and reducing plastic waste. In drainage management, the focus was on technological advances in water recovery and filtration. New developments in the areas of underground drainage systems, flexible drainage solutions and innovative concepts for increasing the water permeability of ground surfaces are helping to improve resilience to heavy rainfall events and safeguard water quality in the long term. In line with NORMA Group’s sustainability goals, further initiatives have also been launched to increase the use of recycled and environmentally friendly raw materials in product and process design. This underscores NORMA Group’s continuous efforts to develop innovative solutions that offer both environmental and economic benefits for its customers.

Know-how protected by patents

Its unique know-how in the field of joining technology represents a key success factor for NORMA Group. Therefore, the Group protects its innovations through patents. A total of 719 patents and utility models were held as of December 31, 2024 (2023: 729); the number of patents thus remained almost constant compared to the previous year. Both in terms of the number of internal invention applications (2024: 25, 2023: 20) and in the number of new patent applications filed (2024: 41, 2023: 28) a significant increase was recorded compared to the previous year.

R&D Expenses

Expenditure on research and development amounted to EUR 50.8 million in 2024. (2023: EUR 44.3 million). This corresponds to around 4.4% (2023: 3.6%) of NORMA Group’s total sales in fiscal year 2024. The capitalization ratio, i.e., the share of own work capitalized in R&D expenses in the current reporting year was 12.9% (2023: 6.8%).

Employees in R&D

As at December 31, 2024, the Group employed 338 people in research and development (2023: 316 employees) worldwide. This represents around 5.6% of the core workforce (2023: 5.3%).