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August News in Brief

01 August, 2008

º  Siemens has bought the German engineering software and services supplier innotec for an undisclosed sum. Innotec, which employs 200 people, specialises in lifecycle management systems for the process sector. It will join Siemens’ Industrial Automation Systems business, making it the first industrial equipment provider to offer system-wide products for integrating production sequences and production lifecycles to all sectors of the manufacturing and processing industries.

º  The market for power semiconductors used in industrial motor drives will grow from $1bn in 2007 to $1.3bn by 2010, according to a new forecast from IMS Research. Most drives now use IGBT modules, although the fastest-growing technology is power integrated modules. Technology trends for power devices include lower heat losses, better temperature tolerance and higher power densities.

º  Bosch Rexroth is buying a majority stake in a Chinese pneumatics company, Zhejiang Easun Pneumatic Technology, based in Cixi. The company, which employs 900 people, makes pneumatic cylinders, valves and accessories for the Chinese market.

º  Magnetek has bought the DDC (Direct DC Drive) product line from Florida-based Saminco, as well as associated technology, patent and intellectual property rights, co-owned by Samico and the Eaton Corporation. The digital drives, sold under the OmniPulse name, are designed for crane control applications. Magnetek expects many cranes with electromechanical controls to be retrofitted with digital controls over the coming decade.

º  Vishay Intertechnology has made an unsolicited bid for the US semiconductor supplier International Rectifier, valuing IR at $1.5bn. If it goes ahead, the acquisition would be Vishay’s largest. In 2006, Vishay bought IR’s power control systems business for $290m.

º  Rockwell Automation has been recognised as "one of the world’s most ethical companies" by the Ethisphere Institute, a US think-tank that studies business ethics and corporate responsibility. Rockwell was one of 93 companies that were selected as winners from a review process that considered the ethical and legal performance of more than 10,000 companies.

º  Autodesk is buying the German supplier of electrical CAD software, Elektro-CAE-Software from Mensch und Maschine Deutschland, for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes the ECSCAD product line and is expected to expand the reach of Autodesk’s electrical CAD systems to parts of the European market that rely on database-driven methods for their designs.

º  Ametek is buying Xantrex Technology’s programmable power business for $120m in cash. The division makes programmable AC and DC supplies and has annual sales worth around $80m.

 




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