News » World News Moulding machine maker buys AMK’s automation arm
The German injection-moulding machine manufacturer Arburg has bought the drives and motors developer AMK Arnold Müller from its Chinese owner, Zhongding Holding Europe. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Batch size one custom safety relays are ‘the world’s first’
The German machine safety specialist Pilz has developed a technology that allows users to configure and order customised safety relays online for orders as small as one relay. In many cases, the bespoke modular relays will be delivered the next day, tested and ready-to-install without needing any programming. All that’s needed is a screwdriver to install the relay in a control cabinet.
Fairbanks Morse buys motor control pioneer Ward Leonard
The US engine-maker Fairbanks Morse has acquired one of the oldest names in the electric motor industry, Ward Leonard, for an undisclosed sum. This acquisition will expand the power and propulsion equipment and services that Fairbanks Morse offers to its customers, which include the US Navy, US Coast Guard and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Teledyne buys Flir for $8bn to expand its sensing portfolio
The US industrial conglomerate Teledyne Technologies is buying the infrared imaging giant Flir Systems in a cash-and-stock deal worth around $8bn. Although both companies are active in the sensing market, they say that their technologies and markets are “perfectly complementary … with minimal overlap”.
Yaskawa invests $4m in GaN firm to boost next-gen drives
The Japanese drive and robot manufacturer Yaskawa is investing $4m in Transphorm, a Californian pioneer in gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors, with the aim of using GaN to enhance the performance of the next generation of power conversion systems, including servodrives and variable-speed drives. The two companies have entered a multi-year cooperation and development agreement, expanding on a co-operation initiated in 2017, when Yaskawa invested $15m in Transphorm.
Now Amazon wants to monitor your industrial equipment
Amazon has announced five machine-learning technologies and services designed to help industrial and manufacturing users to embed intelligence into their production processes to improve efficiency, quality control, security, and workplace safety. The services combine machine learning, sensor analysis, and computer vision capabilities to address common technical challenges faced by industry, and are claimed to be the most comprehensive suite of cloud-to-edge industrial machine learning services available.
$45m injection will see Spot the robot dog inspecting sites
An Israeli specialist in autonomous inspection technologies has secured a $45m investment from US-based Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) to launch a “transformative” system for remote, autonomous inspection and monitoring of assets at industrial sites. The company, Percepto, has also reached an agreement with Boston Robotics to integrate its dog-shaped robot Spot with its own drone technology to perform coordinated inspections on the ground and from the air. The KDT injection brings bringing the total invested in the company so far to $72.5m.
Rockwell buys Fiix to boost its maintenance services
Rockwell Automation is buying the Canadian computerised maintenance management system (CMMS) provider, Fiix, for an undisclosed sum. Fiix’s cloud-based CMMS creates workflows for scheduling, organising and tracking equipment maintenance.
ABB plans to sell its Dodge power transmission arm
ABB has announced plans to sell off its Dodge mechanical power transmission division following a strategic review of its portfolio. It is also planning to dispose of its Turbocharging and Power Conversion divisions. Together the three divisions represent about $1.75bn of combined annual revenues, or about 6% of ABB’s total revenues.
Siemens gives every worker a Covid bonus of up to €1,000
Siemens is giving all of its employees around the world, except for its senior managers, a special Covid-19 bonus of up to €1,000 to honour their “extraordinary performance during the pandemic”. The company says it is also making the payments – which will cost it about €200m – to live up to its role as a responsible employer “during these special times”.
Nidec is 'planning a $1.9bn EV motor plant for Serbia'
A report from the Nikkei news service suggests that the Japanese motor manufacturer Nidec is planning to build a $1.9bn factory in Serbia to produce motors for the European electric vehicle market. The company is said to be in the final stage of negotiations for the plant, which would include a research centre and could be producing up to 300,000 motors per year by 2023.
It could take 3 years for gears market to recover from 7% fall
The global market for industrial gearboxes and geared motors has dropped by more than 7% this year as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, and it could take until 2022 for sales to recover to their 2019 levels, according to a new report from Interact Analysis.
Ocado buys two robotics companies for $287m
The British online supermarket and technology group Ocado is buying two North American robotics companies – Kindred Systems and Haddington Dynamics – for a total of $287m to enhance its robotic manipulation capabilities and to accelerate the delivery of robotic picking technologies to its Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) customers. Ocado has also acquired a minority stake in materials-handling robotics start-up called Myrmex, which has operations in the US and Greece.
Siemens sells Flender gears business to Carlyle for €2bn
Siemens is selling its Flender mechanical and electrical drives business to the global investment firm, The Carlyle Group, for €2.02bn. Further details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
VW orders more than 2,200 robots in bid to become EV leader
Volkswagen has ordered more than 2,200 industrial robots from two different suppliers, to be installed at plants in Germany and the US. The Japanese robot manufacturer Fanuc will supply more than 1,400 machines for VW production facilities at Chattanooga in the US and Emden in Germany, while ABB will provide a further 800 for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ factory in Hanover, which is being modernised to manufacture the new ID. Buzz electric van due to enter production in 2022.
