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Allied Motion buys German motor-maker Heidrive for €20m

24 December, 2015

The US motion control specialist Allied Motion Technologies is buying the German motors and servodrives manufacturer, Heidrive, for €20m (about $22m). Allied says that the acquisition will broaden its geographical reach and expand its product and technical capabilities.

“We believe that these enhanced technical competencies will allow us to compete more effectively in our existing markets, as well as new markets brought to us by Heidrive,” says Allied’s chairman and CEO, Richard Warzala. “We are enthusiastic about our prospects and that the utilisation of Allied Systematic Tools will lead us to continuous improvements in quality, delivery, cost and innovation as well as create significant value for our stakeholders.”

Founded in 1938 and headquartered in Kelheim, Germany, Heidrive designs and manufactures customised synchronous motion systems for demanding applications. It employs about 220 people in Kelheim and at a plant in Mrakov in the Czech Republic. Heidrive expects its revenues for 2015 to amount to around €29m ($32m) – an 8% increase on 2014. Its assets are worth around €10m ($11m).

Heidrive can trace its history back to the establishment of a blacksmiths shop in 1720. It developed and produced its first electric motors in 1951. The current headquarters in Kelheim were opened in 1961 and the Czech subsidiary was established in 1995. Heidrive was acquired by a private equity firm, palero Invest, in February 2014.

Heidrive produces motors, gears and geared motors, and servodrives up to 1kW. The motors include servomotors, EC motors up to 300W, three-phase motors up to 550W, capacitor motors up to 550W and shaded-pole motors up to 30W. Heidrive’s gears are designed for heavy-duty use and include planetary, flat, helical and worm types.

Heidrive's portfolio includes motors, servodrives and gears

At the recent SPS IC Drives show, Heidrive launched a series of rugged servomotors – called HeiMotion Dynamic (HMD) – that use a new winding technology, and are said to benefit from optimised use of materials in the rotor and a short overall length.

Allied Motion was formerly known as Hathaway Corporation and adopted its current name in 2002 after selling off its power and instrumentation business. Since then, it has expanded through a series of acquisitions, including Stature Electric and Netherlands-based Precision Motor Technology (Premotec) in 2004, Agile Systems from Canada and Sweden’s Östergrens Elmotor in 2010, and Ohio-based Globe Motors in 2013. Between 2011 and 2014, Allied’s revenues grew by 125% to reach around $250m.

Allied's acquisition of Heidrive is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.




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