igus alternatives

igus, headquartered in Cologne, Germany and founded in 1964, is a family-owned manufacturer of motion plastics whose robotics range covers low-cost automation, cobots and linear robots, sold in more than 80 countries. Buyers compare robot components and motion systems because a build can start from plastic motion components, precision linear guides, a PC-based control platform, a gearbox, or pneumatic and electric drives. THK, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and founded in 1971, commercialised the world's first LM Guide in 1972 and supplies LM Guides, ball screws, electric actuators and robot solutions across Japan, the Americas, Europe, China and Asia. Beckhoff, headquartered in Verl, Germany and founded in 1980, is a family-owned automation company whose TwinCAT software turns PCs into real-time controllers, whose EtherCAT fieldbus is widely used in high-performance automation, and which offers modular robot systems. Bonfiglioli, headquartered at Calderara di Reno, Italy and founded in 1956, is a power-transmission group whose Motion & Robotics division supplies gearboxes and AGV and AMR drive platforms in about 80 countries. Festo, headquartered in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany and founded in 1925, is a family-owned supplier of pneumatic and electric drive technology, process automation and technical education in 176 countries. Choose igus for motion plastics and low-cost robot systems, THK for linear motion guides and ball screws, Beckhoff for PC-based control and modular robot systems, Bonfiglioli for gearboxes and mobile robot drives, and Festo for pneumatic and electric drive technology.

Alternatives to igus

THK

THK Co., Ltd. is the Japanese company that invented the linear motion guide: in 1972 it became the first in the world to commercialise rolling-contact linear motion, and its LM Guide remains a standard component inside machine tools, semiconductor equipment and industrial robots.

Beckhoff

Beckhoff Automation is a family-owned German automation company, founded in 1980 and headquartered in Verl, best known for PC-based control: its TwinCAT software turns standard PCs into real-time machine controllers, and its EtherCAT fieldbus is a de-facto standard in high-performance automation.

Bonfiglioli

Bonfiglioli is a privately held Italian power-transmission group, founded in 1956 and headquartered at Calderara di Reno near Bologna, whose Motion & Robotics business supplies the drive components robots and automated vehicles run on.

Festo

Festo is a German family-owned engineering group that is one of the world’s largest suppliers of factory and process automation technology.

Full profile, with every fact and its source: igus. Profile facts last verified 6 November 2026.