Camstar will join Siemens’ PLM (product lifecycle management) business and its MES products will complement Siemens’ existing vertical industry offerings. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of November, 2014.

Camstar, founded in 1984, has its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has 250 employees in the US, Singapore, Malaysia, China and The Netherlands. Its MES portfolio delivers scalable, flexible, enterprise-wide systems for centralised or distributed multi-site manufacturing environments. The portfolio includes high-performance, cloud-based analytics that uses big data capabilities to gain insights into the operation of complex processes.

“The addition of Camstar’s solutions will further accelerate our integration of PLM with the Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) domain,” says Chuck Grindstaff, president and CEO of Siemens PLM Software. “In the integrated digital enterprise, we are enabling PLM, MOM and industrial automation to work together to help customers realise innovation in their products and processes throughout the value chain.”

Greg Gorbach, vice-president of the ARC Advisory Group, describes the acquisition as “a smart move” that aligns well with Siemens’ industrial strategy. “It enhances their capabilities in important industry segments, adds powerful technology and expertise to their solution offering, and enables their customers to realise innovation.”