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Omron buys Delta Tau to boost its motion capabilities
The Japanese automation manufacturer Omron is buying the Californian motion control specialist Delta Tau Data Systems, as part of a strategy to enhance its factory automation technology and strengthen its position in the control devices market. Details of the transaction have not been released.
Delta Tau, founded in 1976, has more than 1,000,000 motion control axes installed worldwide. They are used by industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, machine tools, LCD manufacturing, medical systems and packaging equipment. Its largest markets are the US and South Korea.
DT’s portfolio includes its PMAC motion control platform, which Omron describes as “the world's highest-level motion controller”, capable of processing eight axes in 50µs. The controller is available in various configurations, including in embedded and standalone PLCs, and as PC boards.
Omron plans to combine the PMAC technology with its own products, including its NJ/NX series controllers, and offer new solutions to its customers. Merging the two companies’ products and technologies will also allow them to deliver optimised motion control systems globally through their combined distribution networks.
By adopting DT’s high-performance motion control technology in its NJ/NX controllers, Omron aims to expand applications for these products. The NJ/NX controllers combine PLC and motion control functions and integrate with input and output devices such as vision sensors and servodrives to allow high-performance motion control that Omron says would be difficult to achieve using conventional PLCs.
Omron adds that the acquisition will allow it to reinforce its industrial automation business “steadily”. This a pivotal aspect of its long-term management strategy, Value Generation 2020, aimed at helping to drive future growth.
Delta Tau employs 178 people. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, and it has branch offices in the UK (in Clacton on Sea), Switzerland, Korea, Japan, China, India and Singapore.
Omron’s automation portfolio also includes servodrives and servomotors, vision systems, safety devices and in-panel controllers.
Omron expects the acquisition to close in early September, 2015.
