Development and manufacturing of electronics for building automation – from the idea to lifecycle management
Insta GmbH
LüdenscheidNew on Amplifa
About Insta
Insta GmbH has been developing and producing electronics for building automation and the smart home since 1970. The company, founded in 1970 by the switch and system manufacturers Berker, Gira and JUNG and headquartered in Lüdenscheid in the Sauerland region, manufactures actuators, sensors, gateways, push button interfaces and operator interfaces (HMI) for the KNX, DALI-2, Matter, Zigbee and Bluetooth standards – as white-label OEM products and as individual custom solutions. Development and manufacturing are located at a single site: in addition to hardware and software development, the value chain encompasses concept development and system engineering, a fully automated SMT production line with Fuji equipment and more than 250 million components processed per year, THT island manufacturing with soldering robots, as well as test technology, certification support, logistics and product lifecycle management. In addition to KNX OEM products, Insta also offers conventional products such as dimming and temperature control inserts as well as new solutions based on 60 GHz radar sensor technology. Production follows lean principles in very small to large series for customers from building automation, smart home, lighting and HVAC.
- Site
- Lüdenscheid
- Processes
- Hardware development (circuits for actuators, sensors, radio technology with in-house antenna, Software development (embedded software, drivers, operating software, mobile apps), SMT manufacturing (surface-mount technology, fully automated, >250 million components per year,, THT manufacturing (THT assembly, testing, final assembly, labeling, packaging), Automatic soldering of THT components (including soldering robots for small batch sizes), Wave soldering (referenced as an alternative to soldering robots), Electronics production of small and large series (very small series up to large series), Test technology / quality assurance (intelligent testing technology, AOI, electrical safety, EMC,
- Materials
- Printed circuit boards / plastic housings (halogen-free, without chlorine/bromine), Surface-Mount Technology, Through-Hole Technology, 60 GHz High-Frequency Technology, Halogen-free printed circuit boards and plastic housings, Human-Machine Interfaces
- Certificates
- ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 50001:2018, ECOVADIS certification, CSA certification (Matter over Thread Push Button Module), ECOVADIS, CSA (Matter over Thread product certification)
- Founded
- 1970
- Industries
- Building automation / Smart Building, Smart Home, Electrical installation industry (switch and system manufacturers), Electronics/supply industry, Lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning)
- 01
Concept development and system engineering (requirements specification,
- 02
Hardware and software development
- 03
SMT manufacturing (fully automated, AOI inspection)
- 04
THT manufacturing (assembly, automatic soldering including soldering robots)
- 05
Assembly, labeling, testing
- 06
Logistics (packaging, Kanban, delivery)
- 07
Quality and product lifecycle management
Materials & Processes
Surface-Mount Technology
Fully automated population on Fuji equipment with uninterrupted line changeover on two production lines for over 250 million components per year.
Through-Hole Technology
Island manufacturing with THT assembly, testing, final assembly, labeling and packaging; soldering robots for small batch sizes and solder joints that wave soldering cannot accommodate.
60 GHz High-Frequency Technology
Radar-based presence detection with position-based motion capture for smart building applications.
Halogen-free printed circuit boards and plastic housings
Avoiding chlorine and bromine improves recyclability and reduces toxic fire gases.
Human-Machine Interfaces
Push buttons, capacitive touch sensors, rotary encoders and displays with signaling via RGB LEDs.
Sites
Lüdenscheid
DEHeadquarters, development and manufacturing (SMT/THT)
- Lot size
- Small to large series
- Materials
- Electronics (SMT/THT)
- Fuji SMT placement equipment
- Soldering robots
- AOI inspection systems
- Wave soldering system
- Small parts warehouse with 25,000 bin locations
Components & Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware development (circuits for actuators, sensors, radio technology with in-house antennaEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Software development (embedded software, drivers, operating software, mobile apps)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| SMT manufacturing (surface-mount technology, fully automated, >250 million components per year,Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| THT manufacturing (THT assembly, testing, final assembly, labeling, packaging)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Automatic soldering of THT components (including soldering robots for small batch sizes)Joining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wave soldering (referenced as an alternative to soldering robots)Joining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Electronics production of small and large series (very small series up to large series)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Test technology / quality assurance (intelligent testing technology, AOI, electrical safety, EMC,Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Certification and conformity testing (EMC, radio standards, certification in the company's ownTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| System engineering and concept development (requirement engineering, coarse/fine concept, PEP, FMEA)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Product lifecycle management (product maintenance, updates, OS management, app maintenance)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Logistics services (packaging to customer specifications, on-time delivery, Kanban value stream,Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
4 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMT placement equipment | Fuji | – | – | – | Lüdenscheid |
| Soldering robots | – | – | – | – | Lüdenscheid |
| AOI inspection systems | – | – | – | – | Lüdenscheid |
| 3D printers | – | – | – | – | Lüdenscheid |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality
Intelligent testing technology accompanies the entire value chain: AOI inspection after SMT assembly as well as testing of electrical safety, EMC and radio standards, partly in the company's own laboratory with development-accompanying measurements (including in-house antenna design). Certifications according to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 50001:2018 as well as ECOVADIS underpin quality, environmental and energy management.
| Evidence | Lüdenscheid |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001:2015 | |
| ISO 14001:2015 | |
| ISO 50001:2018 | |
| ECOVADIS | |
| CSA (Matter over Thread product certification) |
History
- 1970
Founding of Insta Elektro GmbH in Lüdenscheid as an SME cooperation of the switch and system manufacturers Berker, Gira and JUNG for development and manufacturing cooperation in the field of electronics
- 1990
Involved in the emergence of the KNX standard (Instabus) from the very beginning
- 2010
Start of the lean transformation within the company
- 2021
Launch of NEXENTRO (Zigbee modules for the flush-mounted box); dedicated cyber security officer
- 2022
Entry into the Matter smart home standard
- 2023
Alfred Vrieling becomes the new Managing Director (from May 2023)
- 2025
Alexander Burgbacher retires; CSA-certified Matter module (Push Button Module) launched on the market; 'Top 100' as one of Germany's 100 most innovative SMEs; nomination of the ETS Xpress configuration for the KNX Product Award 2026