Drives & Controls July / August 2022

Jon Howard has been appointed managing director of PMWDynamics, the Hampshire-based manufacturer of printed-armature, flat, ironless servomotors, previously known as Printed MotorWorks. Howard has more than 35 years’experience of the servomotor sector, from both a design engineering and a commercial perspective. His career has included more than 20 years with Heason Technology, including six years as MD. Most recently he was general manager of Elmo Motion Control Europe. He joins PMWwith a remit to develop and enhance the product portfolio with targeted deployment to key global sectors. TÜV SÜD UK has appointed Darren Hugheston-Roberts to be head of its Machinery Safety division. He joins from Bureau Veritas, where he was service lead of engineering technical services and technical manager for its machinery and UKCA Approved Body activities. Previously, he served for 25 years in the British Army in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. This included a period serving as the senior engineer within a battle group, providing technical advice to the commander to optimise equipment use and ensure its availability. He also oversaw the work of more than 40 engineers. WEG IS BUYINGTHE Motion Control business of the Italian automation and sensors manufacturer Gefran for around €23m. Founded in 1960 and listed on the Italian stock exchange, Gefran has three businesses: Motion Control, Automation Components and Sensors. The Motion Control operation, which WEG is acquiring, develops and produces variable-speed drives, DC converters, special servodrives and elevator controls. It has around 180 employees, with factories in Italy, Germany, China and India. In 2021, the business generated revenues worth about €44.8m, out of Gefran’s total of €160m. The deal will boost WEG’s manufacturing capacity in Europe and follows a recent announcement that it is building a €23.5m motors factory in Portugal. “Our objective is to offer an increasingly broad portfolio of products and solutions, increase our presence in a market as important as the European market, now with local manufacturing, and thereby accelerate our growth process abroad within our motion drives strategy,” says Manfred Peter Johann, managing director of WEG Automation. The two family-run businesses say that they share common values and visions, and consider the stable creation of value over time to be a fundamental objective. “The sale of the drives business is part of Gefran’s broader strategic plan to focus resources on the company's historical core business of sensors and components for industrial automation,” explains Gefran CEO, Marcello Perini. “In these business areas, the group has a consolidated global leadership, generates excellent income results on a stable basis, and has primarily directed the investment plan of recent years.” The deal is subject to certain conditions, including approval by EU regulatory authorities. WEG buys Gefran drives for €23m to boost its EU production capacity WEG’s acquisition of Gefran’s drives business will give it additional manufacturing capacity in Europe July/August 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com 10 n NEWS Routeco Live 8–22 September Locations across UK The roadshow, which will include an exhibition, product demonstrations and manufacturer-led seminars, will be held in Milton Keynes (on 8 September), Glasgow (13 September), Leeds (15 September) and Bristol (22 September). Topics to be covered include robotics, software and cybersecurity. For more details, see page 49. www.routeco.com/en-gb/routeco-live-2022 PPMA Total Show 2022 27–29 September NEC, Birmingham The show’s organisers say PPMA will be “the UK’s largest-ever event dedicated to state-of-the-art processing and packaging machinery”. They expect to attract more than 400 exhibitors and more than 2,500 brands. Technologies being featured include robots and industrial vision. https://www.ppmashow.co.uk Engineering Design Show 12-13 October 2022 Coventry Claimed to be UK’s biggest event dedicated to engineering, electronics and embedded design. Parking and entry are free. https://www.engineeringdesignshow.co.uk SPS 2022 8–10 November 2022 Nuremberg, Germany The huge automation event returns as a live event for the first time since 2018, after the 2021 event was cancelled at the last minute. It will take place two weeks earlier than in previous years and will be supplemented by a digital- format “SPS on air” event. More than 700 exhibitors have already signed up. https://sps.mesago.com/events/en.html Drives & Controls 2024 16–18 April, 2024 NEC, Birmingham, UK The automation, robotics and motion engineering show will return to the NEC alongside the co-located Smart Industry Expo, Air-Tech, Plant & Asset Management, and Fluid Power & Systems events. https://www.drives-expo.com