August 2021

NEWS n 5 ABB expands into the mobile robotics field by buying Asti… ABB IS ENTERING the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) market by buying the Spanish AMR manufacturer, Asti Mobile Robotics, for an undisclosed sum. ABB claims that deal will make it the only company to offer a complete portfolio for the next generation of flexible automation. Burgos-based Asti was founded in 1982 by the parents of its current majority owner and CEO, Veronica Pascual Boé. It employs more than 300 people in Spain, France and Germany. Asti has one of Europe’s largest installed fleets of AMRs, with a customer base that includes Volkswagen, Stellantis, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble. Since 2015, the company has maintained an annual growth rate of close to 30% and it is aiming to achieve around $50m in revenues during 2021. ABB plans to expand Asti’s operations to 53 countries, targeting the global AMR market where sales are predicted to reach around $14bn by 2025, with a CAGR of around 20%. ASTI’s headquarters will become ABB’s AMR business HQ, led by Boé, with core functions, including r&d, engineering, product and project value chains, staying there. ABB plans to expand the company’s production capacity“significantly”to support a planned sales expansion. ABB will establish an Asian AMR hub, including manufacturing, at its new Chinese robotics factory, which is due to open in Shanghai in 2022. China, the world’s largest robot market, is predicted to be spending $1.8bn annually on AMRs by 2025. “Asti is the perfect choice for us as we support our customers with the next generation of flexible automation,” says Sami Atiya, president of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation business.“It is going to help us to transform the robotics industry. “With this acquisition, ABB will be the only company to offer a full automation portfolio of AMRs, robots and machine automation solutions, from production to logistics, to point of consumption,”he adds.“This is a gamechanger for our customers as they adapt to the individualised consumer and seize opportunities presented by significant changes in consumer demand.” ABB and ASTI share a vision of end- users replacing today’s linear production lines with flexible networks, where intelligent AMRs move materials, parts and finished products autonomously between smart connected workstations, in factories, logistics centres, laboratories, shops or hospitals. Atiya sees production flexibility as a key to serving the expanding market for personalised products.“Flexibility is a strategic need – those who can’t adapt, will not survive,”he predicts. Atiya believes that AMRs could transform industries such as the automotive sector – for example replacing existing linear welding processes by a series of flexible cells. AMRs could also deliver the precise components needed to personalise the interior of each car on a production line. Asti’s AMR portfolio includes towing vehicles, goods-to-person systems, carriers and box movers, as well as software ranging from vehicle navigation and control, fleet and order management, to cloud-based traceability systems. These will be integrated with ABB’s robots, machine automation, modular systems and software packages. www.drivesncontrols.com July/August 2021 Sami Atiya, president of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation business, with Veronica Pascual Boé, CEO of ABB’s latest acquisition, the AMR manufacturer Asti ABB IS SELLING ITS Dodge mechanical power transmission business to the US bearings-maker RBC Bearings for $2.9bn in cash. The deal will double RBC’s revenues, and create a leading manufacturer of performance-critical bearings and motion control components. Dodge, whose headquarters are in South Carolina, manufactures mounted bearings, enclosed gearing and power transmission components. It has around 1,500 employees worldwide and six manufacturing sites – five in the US and one in China. In the year to June 2021, it achieved revenues of about $617m and an EBITDA of about $174m. More than 90% of its revenues come from the Americas. Last November, ABB’s CEO Björn Rosengren announced that the company was planning to sell Dodge – which it acquired in 2011 when it bought Baldor Electric for $4.2bn – as well as its Power Conversion and Turbocharging divisions. RBC predicts that synergies from the Dodge acquisition could reach $70-100m within five years. Its chairman, president and CEO, Dr Michael Hartnett, says that adding Dodge“will enhance RBC Bearings’ capabilities, footprint, and customer base while increasing our access to Dodge’s attractive end-markets. Our businesses are highly complementary, with Dodge bringing new offerings, new end-markets, and more scale to the combined organisation. The combined company will have an attractive position in the aerospace, defence and industrial markets, with a diversified client base and expansive geographic footprint.” ABB is expecting a non-operational pre- tax gain of around $2.2bn from the sale of Dodge.“We are delighted that Dodge has found an excellent new home with RBC Bearings, where it can continue its exciting growth story,”says Rosengren.“This transaction further strengthens ABB’s balance sheet. We plan to first use the proceeds from the transaction to fund organic growth, pay a rising sustainable dividend per share and make value- creating acquisitions.” … and sells Dodge to RBC for $2.9bn