ABB has expanded its low-voltage NEMA motor business by acquiring Siemens’ group in a deal announced Thursday.
Swiss-based ABB already held a substantial NEMA business after its acquisition from Baldor Electric several years ago. The acquisition will be accretive to the ABB Motion business.
“We have long appreciated the quality and design of these motors,” Jesse Henson, president of ABB’s NEMA motors division, said. “Now that we have met the leadership team behind them, I am even more confident that together we can grow our combined businesses faster than either of us could alone. We look forward to adding the Siemens low voltage NEMA motor portfolio to our existing offering of ABB and Baldor-Reliance® industrial electric motors.”
The existing ABB NEMA motors are produced at a plant in Fort Smith, Ark. The Siemens’ unit has manufacturing operations in Guadalajara, Mexico, , and holds a strong market and sales foothold in the Americas, the company says.
The business employs around 600 people and generated revenues of approximately $63 million in 2021. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023.
The global NEMA motor industry, roughly $2.7 billion in size, comprises industrial electric motors primarily used within North America. NEMA motors are components used to run equipment in industries such as food and beverage, oil and gas, mining & aggregate, and water & wastewater, and in applications like those which move air, liquids and units.
The Fort Smith facility supplies millions of electric motors, from 1 to 500 horsepower, for functions from cooling fans to fluid pumps and heavy duty tools. The new generation of facility motors are considered a key element in energy efficiency, considering that buildings use a sizable portion of energy and emit greenhouse gas emissions in the process.
“Ninety-six percent of our customers in the U.S. are investing in energy efficiency,” Henson, during an exclusive interview with EnergyTech prior to the ABB Formula E NYC E-Prix electric auto races in Brooklyn, N.Y. “The most sustainable solution is never to use the energy in the first place.”
This article appeared in EnergyTech.