ABB buys automation tech firm in industrial IoT push
Bernecker + Rainer Industrie-Elektronik (B&R) is the leading supplier of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Industrial PCs (IPC) and servo motion-based machine and factory automation, and the B&R headquarters in Eggelsberg, Austria, will become the ABB global centre of excellence for machine and factory automation and the indistrial Internet of Things (IIoT). This will be added to ABB’s digital offering, ABB Ability.
The size of the cash deal was not disclosed, but B&R has annual sales of over $600 million in the $20 billion machine and factory automation market segment, and ABB aims to grow the business to over $1bn ‘in the medium term’.
“B&R is a gem in the world of machine and factory automation and this combination is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB. “This transaction marks a true milestone for ABB, as B&R will close the historic gap within ABB’s automation offering.”
“This is a perfect fit and will make us the only industrial automation provider offering customers the entire spectrum of technology and software solutions around measurement, control, actuation, robotics, digitalization and electrification. With our unique digital offering and our installed base of more than 70 million connected devices, 70,000 control systems and now more than 3 million automated machines and 27,000 factory installations around the world, we enable our combined global customer base to seize the huge opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
This will help ABB take on Siemens, the market leader in industrial automation, he said.
B&R was founded in 1979 by Erwin Bernecker and Josef Rainer and employs more than 3,000 people, including about 1,000 R&D and application engineers. “This combination offers fantastic opportunities for B&R, its customers and employees. We are convinced that ABB offers the best platform for the next chapter of our growth story. ABB’s global presence, digital offering and complementary portfolio will be key for us to further accelerate our pace of innovation and growth,” said Rainer.
When the deal closes in the summer, B&R will become part of ABB’s Industrial Automation division as a new global business unit – Machine & Factory Automation – headed by the current Managing Director, Hans Wimmer. Bernecker and Rainer will act as advisors during the integration phase.
Related articles:
SYSTEMS INTEGRATION FOR INDUSTRY 4.0
ABB TO ACQUIRE THOMAS & BETTS FOR $3.9 BILLION, EXPANDS ACCESS TO NORTH AMERICAN MARKET (2012)
FLASH CHARGING TECHNOLOGY POWERS ELECTRIC BUSES IN SECOND
If you enjoyed this article, you will like the following ones: don't miss them by subscribing to :
