Global sales of permanent magnet (PM) motors will expand at an average annual rate of 11.7% over the coming six years to reach $45.3bn by 2020. A new report, from Allied Market Research, says that industry is witnessing a shift from induction motors to PM machines, driven by factors such as the PM motors’ high efficiencies and power densities, their simple construction, and their durability.
The US market for electric motors is expanding by an average of 5.4% a year and will reach $16.2bn by 2018, according to a new report from the Freedonia Group. It says that rising demand for more efficient (and more expensive) motor products will boost the market, but that pricing pressure from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), as well as competition from lower-cost imports, will limit the increases.
The Taiwanese automation and power electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics is buying the Norwegian power supply maker Eltek in a deal that values the business at around NOK3.9bn (US $530m). The transaction, which is being conducted through Delta’s Dutch subsidiary, Deltronics, is expected to be completed by June 2015.
The PLCopen automation standards organisation has set up a new working group to look at safe motion.
After declining for two years, global revenues from motion-control products have bounced back, growing by more than 6% in 2014 to reach $12.2bn, according to a new study from IHS. However, this still leaves the market about 4% below its peak, which it reached in 2011 following two years of 20%-plus growth.
After months of speculation, the US motors and motion control giant Regal Beloit has announced that it is buying Emerson Electric’s Power Transmission Solutions (PTS) business for $1.4bn in cash and $40m of assumed liabilities.
The Brazilian motor-maker WEG has acquired the German firm Antriebstechnik Katt Hessen (AKH), a motor manufacturer which specialises in high-speed and custom machines. Terms of the deal have not been released.
Variable-speed drives (VSDs) will be an “indispensible” part of all manufacturing equipment by the end of 2018, says a new report from the market analyst, Frost & Sullivan. It predicts that that European revenues from drives used in the discrete industries, will rise from $1.18bn in 2013 to $1.41bn by 2018.
The Japanese motor-maker Nidec is buying assets from a Chinese specialist manufacturer of motors and drives, China Tex Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, in a bid to reinforce itself as the global leader in switched reluctance (SR) motors and drives, and to create a foothold for its Nidec Industrial Solutions (NIS) business in China.
The networking and communications specialist Belden is buying the US-based cyber-security supplier, Tripwire, for $710m in cash. Tripwire, which provides threat, security and compliance systems, will work with Belden to deliver a new generation of cybersecurity systems that can be deployed across enterprise, industrial and broadcast markets.
The Finnish AC drives manufacturer Vacon is now part of the Danfoss Group, after Danfoss secured more than 90% of Vacon’s shares and voting rights, and obtained approvals from all the relevant authorities. Danfoss launched its bid for Vacon in September 2014.
Rapid industrial development in high-growth regions of the world is driving global sales of industrial bearings and couplings, which are expected to grow from $22bn in 2013 to reach $26.7bn by 2018. A new report from Frost & Sullivan says that this push from developing economies is important because the market is technologically mature and growth in developed economies in Europe and North America is limited.
Intelligent motor control centres (IMCCs) are gaining market share at the cost of traditional MCCs, according to a new report from the market analyst, Frost & Sullivan. It estimates that the total MCC market was worth $4.06bn in 2013 and predicts that it will reach $5.12bn by 2018.
Rexnord is buying Euroflex Transmissions (India), which supplies high-performance disc couplings used in power generation, gas compression and industrial process machinery applications. Hyderabad-based Euroflex, which has annual revenues of around $16m, was formed in 1991 as a joint venture with UK-based Euroflex Transmissions.
Autodesk, the company behind AutoCAD, has announced plans to invest up to $100m in 3D printing businesses in the next few years. It has set up a fund to back entrepreneurs, start-ups and researchers who push the boundaries of 3D printing technology and “accelerate the new industrial revolution”.
