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HMS buys German embedded comms specialist Beck IPC

19 July, 2018

Sweden’s HMS Industrial Networks has acquired the German embedded communications specialist Beck IPC for €5m in cash. If Beck IPC achieves defined financial targets, an additional €2m may be paid in 2020.

Beck IPC supplies systems for embedded control, machine-to-machine communications and the Industrial Internet of Things. The company, founded in 2008, is located in Wetzlar and employs around 30 people. It is expected to have net sales of €6-7m in 2018.

“Beck IPC’s knowledge, hardware and software products for IIoT, especially within the embedded offering, are important building blocks to strengthen our strategy within IIoT,” says HMS' CEO, Staffan Dahlström.

Beck IPC’s core product is its IPC@Chip embedded programmable platform in the form of a chip. Aimed at embedded IIoT applications, the IPC@Chip can be used as a PLC, a communications controller, or a combination of both, allowing industrial OEMs to create IIoT systems with reduced development efforts and fast time-to-market. More than 600,000 have been sold, with customers including SEW-Eurodrive and Fuji Electric.

Beck’s portfolio also includes the com.tom edge gateway series with an associated cloud portal, aimed at IIoT applications in factories and process automation. The cloud portal can be used to set up an industrial IoT application, with the com.tom cloud broker managing all inbound and outbound data, including all configuration and security.

HMS' CEO Staffan Dahlström (left) with Beck IPC’s managing director, Thomas Schumacher

“We are excited to be joining HMS,” says Beck IPC’s managing director, Thomas Schumacher. “Thanks to our complementary technologies we will be able to offer innovative, cutting-edge solutions within IIoT, and HMS’s worldwide sales organisation will ensure a global market reach.”

The acquisition is expected to have a limited impact on HMS’s earnings per share in 2018.




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