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 leading HVAC solutions that offer greater customer value.
Belimo prioritizes developing its employees, products, markets, and quality standards over investing in material assets. Regarding the product offering, the Company diversifies in depth rather than breadth. Innovation, inspired by customer challenges and technological advancements, 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 development 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 is making extraordinary investments 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
By measuring HVAC variables — temperature, humidity, pressure, air quality, and flows — sensors are the foundation in linking indoor environments to 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 digital capabilities of the products were consistently expanded.
R&D investment is key for maintaining successful solution leadership. Resources dedicated to R&D as a percentage of net sales serve as a relevant performance indicator for this. This indicator averages to 7.6% over the last five years. The relative dip in 2025 to 6.7% is due to higher-than-expected revenue growth.
Absolute R&D Spending
Relative R&D Spending
Strategic IP Management
Belimo’s strategic intellectual property (IP) management secures 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. Strategic IP management is especially relevant in the age of digitalization.
In 2025, 12 new patent applications were filed. The patent portfolio comprises 153 patent families (2024: 145 patent families).
Belimo also strengthened its IP protection in the year under review. The IP management team continuously monitors development projects, maps patent opportunities, and stays up to speed in each business line. In addition, new applications or technology patents in the HVAC industry are regularly monitored. IP management also includes defining design ownership with development partners. 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.