n NEWS May 2023 www.drivesncontrols.com 10 REGAL REXNORD HAS bought Altra Industrial Motion, in a deal that values Altra at $4.95bn. Regal Rexnord says that the acquisition will transform it into a global automation supplier with more than 70% of its sales in expanding markets, as well as combining the companies’ “complementary”power transmission portfolios. It is aiming for revenues of around $8.3bn by 2025 and expects costs synergies of $160m within four years. The deal brings together brands including Kollmorgen, Portescap, Twiflex, Thomson, Bauer Gear Motor, Stieber, Stromag, Jaure, Kop-Flex, Centa, Falk and Rexnord. Regal Rexnord CEO Louis Pinkham says he is “incredibly excited about all that we expect to accomplish as one, enhanced Regal Rexnord team. Altra's Automation & Specialty platform transforms our existing automation portfolio into a meaningful, global automation solutions provider. Altra's Power Transmission Technologies business significantly enhances our legacy power transmission portfolio, in particular our industrial powertrain offering, by adding complementary products in brakes, gears, and clutches. The deal rebalances Regal Rexnord’s portfolio between motion control (which will now account for 48% of its sales), climate solutions (15%), commercial systems (15%), automation and speciality (13%) and industrial systems (9%). Regal Rexnord says that the merger will allow it to offer “more robust” sub-systems, including industrial powertrains, to a wider range of markets. It will be in “a unique position” to provide customers with a wider and more value-added range of services, including up-front design, performance optimisation, and diagnostic support. Following the merger, Regal Rexnord will have four divisions: n Industrial Powertrain Solutions (IPS), accounting for about 37% of 2022 sales, and consisting of most of the previous Motion Control Solutions (MCS) business, excluding the conveying and aerospace businesses, plus Altra's Power Transmission Technologies segment. n Power Efficiency Solutions (PES), representing about 31% of sales, and consisting of the former Climate Solutions and Commercial Systems businesses. n Automation & Motion Control (AMC) accounting for about 24% of sales and consisting of the current MCS aerospace and conveying businesses, Altra's Automation & Specialty (A&S) segment, and the Regal Rexnord Thomson business that is currently part of the Industrial Systems segment. n Industrial Systems representing around 8% of revenues and consisting of its current operations, excluding the Thomson business. Regal Rexnord was created in 2021 when the electric motors and mechanical power transmission manufacturer Regal Beloit merged with Rexnord Process and Motion Control. The combined business, employing around 29,000 people with manufacturing facilities on five continents, generated revenues of around $5bn in 2022, with an Ebitda of more than $1bn. Its headquarters are in Wisconsin. Before the merger, Altra Industrial Motion had annual sales of $1.9bn, a workforce of more than 9,0000, and 47 production facilities in 17 countries. Its brands include Bauer Gear Motor, Boston Gear, Kollmorgen, Portescap, Stieber, Stromag, Svendborg Brakes, TB Wood’s, Twiflex, Thomson and Warner Electric. Regal Rexnord buys Altra Industrial Motion for $4.95bn RS IS PLANNING TO update the electrical engineering component of its DesignSpark CAD software after several years of limited development of this part of the platform. Mike Bray, vice-president of Innovation and DesignSpark at RS, revealed this recently during an update on the platform following the announcement earlier this year that RS was introducing paid-for versions of DesignSpark in addition to the previous free version, which will continue to be available. RS expects around 90% of its 1.3 million DesignSpark members to stay with the free Explorer version. The paid-for subscription versions – Creator costing £9.99 a month and Engineer costing £14.99 – will add extra capabilities and will be aimed at more demanding users. For example, a cloudbased schematic generator and simulator is being added to the PCB design version. But Bray emphasises that the free version will continue to be developed further. Users will be able to move between the versions, upgrading to a paid-for version for a while if a project needs extra functions. The mechanical version of DesignSpark is the most popular, used by around 65% of members, followed by PCB design on 35% and electrical on 20% (there is some overlap between users). Bray admits that not much development work has been done of the electrical version for some time, but there are plans to change this. DesignSpark users are spread around the world, with the largest base being in Japan which accounts for 15% of all users, followed by the UK on 14% and the US on 12%. The biggest user group by age are 18-34 yearolds, who make up more than a third of the total. Students account for about a fifth of users, while professionals make up about 40% – a similar proportion to enthusiasts and amateurs. The DesignSpark Web site attracts five million visitors a year. www.rs-online.com/designspark/home RS reveals plans to upgrade DesignSpark Electrical Regal Rexnord CEO Louis Pinkham: incredibly excited
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