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Emerson acquires Afag to accelerate factory automation capabilities

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Emerson has acquired Afag Holding AG, an innovator in electric linear motion, feeding and handling automation solutions.

The electric linear motion segment expands Emerson’s served market by more than $9 billion and is expected to grow mid-single digits annually, supporting Emerson’s long-term, profitable organic growth.

Afag, headquartered in Zell, Switzerland, brings state-of-the-art technology and innovation to Emerson. The acquisition enhances Emerson’s capabilities in factory automation and creates a leading motion portfolio that combines Afag’s electric linear motion solutions with Emerson’s pneumatic motion technology. [Read more…] about Emerson acquires Afag to accelerate factory automation capabilities

IAR Group strengthens market position through acquisition of Sontec

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IAR Group from Zofingen (Switzerland), which specializes in automation systems, is taking over Sontec AG from Hochdorf (Switzerland), which is active in the fields of automated testing technology, assembly automation, robotics and image processing, with immediate effect.

With this acquisition, the IAR Group strengthens its position in the global market for industrial automation and increases its production capacity in Switzerland.

“I am very pleased about this early succession solution, which is ideal for the future of the company and its employees,” says Othmar Amrein, former owner of Hochdorf-based Sontec. [Read more…] about IAR Group strengthens market position through acquisition of Sontec

Motion & Control enterprises acquires Ultimation Industries

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Motion & Control Enterprises has acquired Ultimation Industries, its fourth acquisition of 2023.

Headquartered in Roseville, MI, Ultimation provides highly engineered automation and material handling solutions as well as quick-ship distribution of material handling equipment products offered through a robust e-commerce platform to customers across the US, Latin America, and Europe.

The company serves a broad range of end-markets, including energy, automotive, logistics and vertical faming. [Read more…] about Motion & Control enterprises acquires Ultimation Industries

XTEND acquires drone inspection specialist Performance Rotors

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XTEND, the developer of XOS, a human-guided autonomous operating system, or human-machine interaction system, has acquired Performance Rotors, a Singapore-based drone inspection specialist.

XTEND says the move will boost its ability to offer human-guided, remote interactive operations in a range of inspection scenarios, and grow its global business. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Aviv Shapira, co-founder, and CEO at XTEND, says: “Our acquisition of Performance Rotors marks the latest step in furthering XTEND’s vision of making remote interactive operations accessible to everyone, in a range of scenarios, including inspection, public safety and security. [Read more…] about XTEND acquires drone inspection specialist Performance Rotors

BlueBotics to showcase its robotics technology at LogiMAT after acquisition by Zapi

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BlueBotics, a Zapi Group company specializing in vehicle automation, will stage a multi-brand automated vehicle demonstration in the Zapi Group/BlueBotics booth (#6B61 in hall 6).

This demo will include: two autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), two automated pallet trucks, and a larger forked automated guided vehicle (AGV) in simultaneous operation, all managed simultaneously by the company’s mission and fleet management software, ANT server.

Dr Nicola Tomatis, BlueBotics CEO, says: “AGV and AMR interoperability is a hot topic in 2023. And while emerging standards such as VDA 5050 and MASS in the US are exciting developments, these are still in their infancy in terms of the vehicle functionality they support. [Read more…] about BlueBotics to showcase its robotics technology at LogiMAT after acquisition by Zapi

Convergix Automation solutions acquires Eagle Technologies

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Convergix Automation Solutions, an automation solutions company backed by private equity firm Crestview Partners, has completed the acquisition of Eagle Technologies, a Bridgman, Michigan-based systems integrator specializing in turnkey automated production and testing solutions.

Following Convergix’s acquisitions of JMP Solutions in August 2021, Classic Design in February 2022, and AGR Automation in August 2022, Eagle marks the fourth acquisition in Crestview’s strategy to build Convergix into a diversified automation solutions provider targeting the global $500+ billion market, with a particular focus on the $70 billion global systems integration and connectivity segments.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. [Read more…] about Convergix Automation solutions acquires Eagle Technologies

Bosch to acquire 12 percent of Husqvarna

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Bosch has agreed to acquire shares in the long-established Swedish company Husqvarna. The acquisition will increase its shareholding to roughly 12 percent in the company’s share capital in total. Numbers were not disclosed. 

Husqvarna is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. In acquiring these shares today, Bosch intends to strengthen the battery alliance between the two companies.

Husqvarna also includes the Gardena subsidiary and its Flymo brand, both of which are also partners in the Bosch Power Tools division’s “Power for All Alliance”. [Read more…] about Bosch to acquire 12 percent of Husqvarna

Kodiak Robotics equips autonomous trucks with Ambarella AI system-on-chip

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Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving trucking company, has agreed a partnership with Ambarella, an edge AI semiconductor company, to integrate Ambarella’s CV2AQ AI perception system-on-chip (SoC) into its self-driving trucks for all camera data processing.

To kick off the partnership publicly, Kodiak will exhibit one of its self-driving trucks at Ambarella’s demo event in Las Vegas during the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Don Burnette, founder and CEO, Kodiak, says: “Our focus on building the world’s safest and most reliable self-driving trucks requires us to seek out the best partners. [Read more…] about Kodiak Robotics equips autonomous trucks with Ambarella AI system-on-chip

Wieland acquires Heyco Metals and National Bronze Manufacturing

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With the acquisition of Hummock Industries, Wieland has acquired Heyco Metals, a leader in light and medium gauge copper, copper alloy, and stainless steel strip processing, and National Bronze, a manufacturer and distributor of bronze-based bearing products.

Hummock Industries is a family-owned holding company focused on long-term investments in North American-based manufacturing companies.

These complementary operations will further strengthen Wieland’s market position with expanded product offerings, manufacturing capabilities, and distribution networks in North America. [Read more…] about Wieland acquires Heyco Metals and National Bronze Manufacturing

AMD completes acquisition of Xilinx

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AMD has completed the acquisition of Xilinx, creating a “high-performance and adaptive computing leader”.

The acquisition is officially the largest in semiconductor history and brings together two industry leaders with complementary product portfolios, customers and market expertise.

The Xilinx business will become the Adaptive and Embedded Computing Group (AECG), led by former Xilinx CEO Victor Peng. [Read more…] about AMD completes acquisition of Xilinx