Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

 

General

FAQ

PDS HMI Solutions Corp. is the North American subsidiary of Printec-DS, a German HMI manufacturer founded in 1983. Our products embody Made in Germany – a seal of world-class quality, precision, and long-term reliability.

By expanding into the U.S., we bring German engineering directly to one of the world’s most dynamic industrial markets. This local presence allows us to respond faster, offer regional support, and work in true co-development partnerships with our customers.

Through integrated development and production, we combine expertise and innovation to create solutions that meet the highest standards of quality, robustness, and environmental responsibility. Sustainable materials, energy-efficient processes, and partnerships with responsible suppliers are an essential part of our approach.

As a specialist for industrial keyboards, control units, and customized HMI systems, we offer flexible in-house development, reliable long-term availability, and products designed for demanding B2B environments.

Our employees are our most valuable asset. We ensure fair compensation, high safety standards, and ongoing training – because shared innovation drives the success of our customers and our company in the global market.

Our industrial keyboards and customized HMI solutions are used wherever reliability is critical: industrial automation, machinery and plant engineering, transportation, marine, infrastructure and other demanding sectors. The focus is on robust, long-lasting operation under extreme conditions such as dust, moisture, vibration and temperature fluctuations.

 

Products & Services

Our portfolio includes plastic, stainless steel, silicone and membran keyboards with trackball or touchpads, including IEC 60945 marine-certified silicone keyboards , as well as capacitive keyboards and rugged customized HMI.

As a developer and manufacturer of complete solutions in the field of input systems, we supply complete control panals – ready for installation, including foil, silicone mat, housing, display/LED indicators and circuit board.

This results in customized, durable, and high-quality HMI solutions that are optimally tailored to the requirements of our customers.

Our backlit industrial keyboards are engineered with exceptional precision. While many manufacturers illuminate the entire surface, including the areas between keys—we use dedicated dimmable LEDs behind each individual key. provides sharp, highly visible illumination, especially in dark or low-light industrial environments.

We also offer backlit keyboards with IP68 protection, ensuring full water and dust resistance. Using our Product Finder, you can select the ideal keyboard based on protection class, backlighting type and other key features.

Yes. Custom solutions are one of our core areas of expertise. We develop individually tailored HMI and operating solutions—from initial concepts and prototypes to reliable series production. For more information, see Development.

  • Do you also have different country variants and can special variants be implemented?

    • Yes, in addition to a variety of country layouts, we can offer you any desired layout on request. Furthermore, with the help of our R&D teams and modern laser marking, we can also implement individual special layouts at short notice.

    We also offer different interfaces (USB 2.0 or PS2) and programmable features.

  • Do you also provide support for design and development?

Yes. We accompany you from the initial idea to the production-ready product. Based on your requirements, we develop 3D designs, create different design variants, and integrate them directly into your product model. Our R&D team quickly produces functional prototypes—using 3D printing, vacuum casting, milling technology, or other rapid prototyping processes. Thanks to close cooperation between engineering, project management, and sales teams, sketches are quickly turned into precise, functional samples. We also take care of tool design, coordination of all manufacturing partners, and complete prototype control, so you always have a personal contact person.

Yes, we manufacture individual items, small series and large series - whatever our customers need.

We can produce prototypes and customized industrial keyboards from our standard portfolio starting from a quantity of 1. We also flexibly supply customer-specific HMI solutions (e.g., membrane keyboards with special layouts) – from sample quantities of approx. 100 units per year to large projects with up to 15,000 units per year.

Our production facility in southern Germany, with around 55 Employees, has a manufacturing character and stands for precision, flexibility, and the highest quality.

 

Quality & Certification

Our parent company Printec-DS operates under a certified quality management system and places the highest demands on product quality and process reliability. Continuous improvement, internal audits, and close cooperation with selected suppliers ensure that our HMI solutions perform reliably even in harsh and demanding environments.

Product quality is ensured through modern manufacturing processes, continuous testing, and a certified quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001.

An integrated management system controls all quality processes — from incoming and outgoing goods inspections to the creation of test plans (PiPePs) and the complete documentation of all manufacturing steps.

Manufacturing follows clearly defined Lean principles:

  • Zero-defect principle – error prevention instead of error correction to ensure the highest process and product quality
  • Flow principle – ensuring a smooth flow of materials and information
  • Pull principle – manufacturing according to actual customer demand (Kanban system)

In this way we ensure that every product meets our high quality standards – precise, reliable, and sustainable.

More about our quality management .

Product-related certifications are available for some of our silicone keyboards. The models DS85S, DS105S TP, and DS105STP are marine-certified according to IEC 60945.

Additional protection classes relevant for industrial environments are available for selected keyboards within the ranges of IK09 as well as IP65–IP68 certification.

In our Product Finder you can select the protection class that best fits your requirements.

“Made in Germany” is the foundation of our engineering and manufacturing excellence. The core of our parent company’s development and production takes place in Germany, where design, engineering, manufacturing, and testing are performed under one roof.

This integrated approach ensures maximum precision, consistency, and control. All processes follow strict quality standards (ISO 9001) and sustainability standards (ISO 14001 and ISO 50001).

We complement this with carefully selected supplier partnerships that guarantee consistent quality, high delivery reliability, and long-term availability — key strengths for demanding industrial markets.

For American businesses, this translates into clear advantages:

  • Exceptional reliability that reduces downtime and maintenance costs
  • Precision engineering for improved system performance and user experience
  • Stable, predictable supply chains with components built for demanding environments
  • Long lifecycle value, outperforming lower-cost alternatives over time
  • Trusted long-term availability, ideal for industrial B2B requirements

In short, U.S. customers benefit from world-class German engineering combined with our local U.S. presence, ensuring fast support, dependable delivery, and HMI solutions built to last.

 

ESG (Environmental and Social Governance)

We are committed to actively contributing to the protection of our environment. To this end, our parent company Printec-DS monitors self-defined sustainability indicators on an annual basis. These enable us to continuously make our processes more efficient, resource-friendly, and sustainable.

The measures are structured as follows:

  • Own solar power plant

    • With our manufacturers own solar power plant, we can generate around one-third of our total electricity requirements ourselves. This enables us to avoid between 75 and 90 tons of CO₂ per year, thus making a measurable contribution to climate protection.

  • Waste management and recycling

    • Throughout the company, we separate waste into single-type and mixed waste. Year after year, we increase the proportion of single-type, recyclable material such as paper, cardboard, and green waste that is disposed of. In addition, we use old cardboard to produce filling material for our packaging ourselves. In this way, we further reduce the amount of waste we produce.

  • Sustainability in products and processes

    • We also focus on sustainability in the development of our products. Right from the design process, we attach great importance to the use of environmentally friendly and, where possible, recyclable materials. Our manufacturing and assembly processes are regularly reviewed and optimized. We also evaluate our suppliers' value chains and, through personal exchange, ensure that sustainable and economically viable processes are also implemented there.

Energy efficiency is an integral part of our corporate philosophy. Our parent company Printec-DS is voluntarily certified according to ISO 50001:2018 since September 2025.

We are permanently reducing our energy consumption through modern fiber laser technologies, efficient compressed air systems, waste heat utilization, and a centralized energy management system.

Our processes are continuously monitored and optimized to conserve resources, reduce costs, and make a measurable contribution to climate protection.

Read more about our Energy management system .

We implement and comply with all applicable regulations and laws regarding occupational safety in our country.

Our employees are our greatest asset and are paid at least in accordance with the applicable laws.

We also ensure that our suppliers share our values regarding employee protection and environmental responsibility.

 

Collaboration and Workflow Management

We support you from the initial idea to series production. After a detailed analysis of your requirements, we develop your individual HMI concept—from button design to a complete solution with touch screen. Our project management ensures an efficient process, while our engineering team quickly creates prototypes that are ready for series production. Assembly takes place on modern semi-automatic production lines, combined with strict quality controls in accordance with ISO 9001:2015. Even after delivery, we continue to support you at all times with our aftersales service.

Yes, depending on the product, we can offer long-term replacement parts, reproductions, repairs, and even redesigns.

Based on our philosophy of reducing emissions through product longevity, our customers benefit from the cost-effectiveness of high-quality industrial keyboards.

For you, this means that we can still supply components 10-15 years after purchase, thanks to our in-house workshop.

Yes. In addition to manufacturing, we offer comprehensive consulting and development services, including CAD design, material selection, and rapid prototyping.

In addition to state-of-the-art housing technology and customer-specific laser engraving, we adapt your product to your environments and applications.

For more information about our technologies, please visit: PDS HMI Solutions Corp. | Development | From concept to production

Manufacturing, flexible development, and close customer support robust, high-quality products with long-term availability—ideal for the high demands of B2B customers in a wide range of industries and applications.

Our employees are our most greatest asset – in addition to fair pay, the highest occupational safety standards, and respectful cooperation, we promote continuous training programs. Because only through joint innovation can we ensure the economic success of our customers and our company on the global market.

You can do so directly via our contact form or by calling our sales team — we will get back to you as soon as possible with personalized advice and a customized quote.

No. Our products are exclusively supplied to commercial and industrial customers. We do not offer sales to private individuals.

  • Mutual respect and fairness in our dealings with each other form the basis for good teamwork.
  • We recognize and implement applicable laws and regulations as binding obligations.
  • Long-term supplier partnerships help us maintain high quality, sustainability and delivery reliability for our customers. PDS HMI Solutions Corp.

PDS HMI Solutions Corp. combines the strength of German engineering with the advantages of a local U.S. presence, giving American B2B customers fast response times, reliable support, and access to high-quality, customized HMI solutions.

Key reasons for choosing us:

  • Made in Germany engineering with in-house design, development, and production
  • Robust, application-specific HMI solutions designed for demanding industrial environments
  • Strict focus on quality, sustainability, and long-term partnerships
  • Dependable U.S. support with no delays in communication, advice, or storage and logistics
  • Certifications and compliance suitable for the American market
  • Customization without long lead times thanks to close coordination between our U.S. and German teams
  • Fast, agile collaboration, matching the U.S. B2B decision-making culture
  • Deep engineering expertise rooted in more than 40 years of experience

U.S. B2B customers often move faster, explore partnerships earlier, and adopt new ideas quickly when the value is clear. European companies typically follow a more structured, long-term evaluation process. With our dual footprint, PDS bridges both mindsets—offering German precision and reliability paired with American speed, agility, and accessibility.

In short:
Local presence. Global engineering. Fast customization. Proven experience