A particularly striking feature of mechanical rotary cam limit switches used in heavy industry is the high level of manual maintenance they require. That leads to long plant standstill times and increased costs for the companies. In response Johannes Hübner Giessen is now introducing onto the market the new ERC 40, an intelligent electronic position switch with as many as 15 relay outputs. This makes it possible to dispense with mechanical rotary cam limit switches - and implement additional, useful functions at the same time. It makes a huge contribution to operating plant economically, because amongst other positive aspects it automates, simplifies and reduces the expensive maintenance tasks required to date.