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Rockwell buys Rutter Hinz to grow in Canadian oil and gas market

11 February, 2009

Rockwell Automation has agreed to purchase most of the assets of Rutter Hinz, a Canadian engineering company with expertise in industrial automation, process control and power distribution, mainly serving the oil and gas industry, but also the pipeline, utility, mining, forestry, and food and beverage sectors. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Rutter Hinz is a subsidiary of Rutter Inc, a publicly held Canadian company. Headquartered in Saskatoon, Rutter Hinz’s annual sales are worth approximately US$35m and it has around 220 employees, with eight offices in Canada and two in the US. The company’s management team will join Rockwell’s Systems & Solutions business unit.

The acquisition includes Rutter Hinz’s engineering and automation businesses in Canada and the US, but not its Newfoundland consulting engineering business or the assets of Rutter Technologies, which will continue to be part of Rutter Inc.

“This acquisition accelerates the growth of Rockwell Automation’s business and reach in Canada’s heavy industries and oil and gas market, enhances our Canadian oil sands opportunities, and establishes a robust delivery capability in a major market with critical expertise,” says Terry Gebert, vice president and general manager at Rockwell Automation Systems & Solutions.

The deal also strengthens Rockwell’s global project management and engineering capabilities “as we have done with ProsCon and ICS Triplex acquisitions in Europe, CIE in Latin America, and Xi`An Hengsheng in China,” Gebert adds. “Customers will now benefit from the expanded portfolio of application solutions, expertise and delivery capacity that Rutter Hinz offers, particularly to the oil and gas market.”

The acquisition is expected to close during the current quarter.