Innovation & Solution Leadership
Management Approach
Belimo strives for market and technological leadership, investing substantially more than its competitors in innovation to provide the market with unique HVAC solutions that offer greater customer value. The Company focuses on heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning applications, aiming to “Create Healthier Indoor Comfort with Less Energy.”
Belimo prioritizes developing its employees, products, markets, and quality standards over investing in material assets. The Company diversifies in depth rather than breadth. Innovation, inspired by customer challenges and technology trends, is considered a critical factor for long-term success. Throughout the product creation process, Belimo’s customer-centric method CESIM® (Comfort, Energy Efficiency, Safety, Installation and Maintenance) ensures the primary purpose and customer benefits remain central, with early-stage involvement from customer segments, suppliers, and developments partners.
Damper Actuators and Control Valves
The growth plan leading up to 2030 relies mainly on damper actuators and control valves. This is underscored by a dedicated initiative to expand market leadership by leveraging economies of scale.
Belimo will make extraordinary investments in the coming years in renewing its core platforms for both damper actuators and control valves, alongside full integration of its sensors and meters product range, to support energy-efficient building automation with seamless design, installation, and commissioning.
Sensors and Meters
Sensors play a critical role in measuring HVAC variables—temperature, humidity, pressure, air quality, and flows—and linking indoor environments to Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS) for comfort, health, safety, and energy efficiency.
In 2021, Belimo introduced the Thermal Energy Meter, harmonizing certified energy metering with comfort control, reducing operational energy, and supporting tenant billing through Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) certification. Belimo aims to expand its sensor and meter range, increasing market share in the coming years.
Research and Development
Belimo’s solution leadership in the period under review achieved a significant milestone in the core platforms’ renewal of most field devices. The Company also increased the number of employees in its three dedicated innovation hubs – Danbury in the Americas, Großröhrsdorf in EMEA, and Shanghai in Asia Pacific – increasing the international reach of its research and development activities.
R&D investment is key for maintaining successful solution leadership. Resources dedicated to research and development as a percentage of net sales are a relevant performance indicator for this. This share has remained stable at a rate of more than 7% over the last five years, amounting to 7.7% in 2024.
Absolute R&D Spending
Relative R&D Spending
Strategic IP Management
Belimo’s strategic intellectual property (IP) management secures its customers' freedom to operate, while protecting innovation and maintaining competitive advantage. Moreover, deploying strategic IP management contributes to protecting essential elements throughout the customer journey, as well as technological advantages and subsequent innovation leadership. Assessing the value of IP rights and the optimal use of service providers ensures cost-effective operation.
Belimo filed a lower number of new patent applications in 2024 compared to the previous year. In total, 13 new patent families were added to the patent portfolio, totaling 145 patent families.
Belimo also strengthened its IP protection in the year under review. The IP management team continuously monitor development projects, map patent opportunities, and stay up to speed in each business line. In addition, new applications or technology patents in the HVAC industry are regularly monitored. This approach allows developers to focus primarily on their own roles. IP management also includes defining rules and dividing the work between development partners before a project is started. These aspects are well-documented in development and non-disclosure agreements. When required, Belimo evaluates the licensing of advanced technologies. Additionally, IP management maintains a patent database for tracking and sharing relevant information.
Strategic IP management is especially relevant in the age of digitalization. Belimo puts significant effort into monitoring activities in this field to maintain its competitive advantage with IT companies that increasingly file for a vast number of patents. This field is another vital intellectual property area and Belimo has already filed several patent applications.