There is much going on in the world of fluid power and motion control, from technology introductions and industry advancements to new trends and industry leaders. Each week the Power & Motion team collects some of the latest industry news to help keep our readers up to date on what's happening in the industries in which they work.
Nikola Labs Rebrands as AssetWatch
Nikola Labs, Inc., a condition monitoring and proactive maintenance organization, has announced it is changing its name to AssetWatch as well as creating a new website. The company chose to rebrand to better reflect its offering and prescriptive software platform which industrial manufacturing facilities have become familiar with — AssetWatch.
The AssetWatch platform utilizes sensor-based condition monitoring technology to provide insights on the performance of manufacturing equipment and its components. It also provides actionable recommendations for any potential issues detected to help manufacturers be more proactive with their maintenance and reduce unplanned downtime.
"The future of proactive maintenance is now. We’ve worked with organizations across many industries and of all different sizes, budgets, and digital sophistication. The challenge, however, is the same― how to maximize maintenance and reliability teams’ time so they can make data-driven, purposeful actions to prevent unplanned downtime. That’s where AssetWatch comes in. The new company name is rooted in our commitment to go above and beyond for all customers in their pursuit of proactive maintenance and give them the tools, recommendations, and follow through needed for success," said CEO Brian Graham in the company's press release announcing the rebranding.
Helios Technologies Completes Schultes Acquisition
Helios Technologies has completed its previously announced acquisition of Schultes Precision Manufacturing Inc., a specialist in manufacturing precision machined components and assemblies. Schultes serves a variety of markets including hydraulics, aerospace, medical device and more.
With the acquisition, Helios Technologies will bring even more engineering expertise into its portfolio to aid with its future growth plans.
"We are evolving into an integrated operating company focused on our products, processes, customers and culture. Closing on the Schultes acquisition further builds on our augmented strategy to grow both organically and through acquisitions," said Josef Matosevic, Helios’ President and Chief Executive Officer, in the company's press release announcing the acquisition's completion. "Schultes provides additional manufacturing know-how and expands our business into new end markets with attractive secular tailwinds. We view them as a strategic partner in our manufacturing processes as we build out our ‘in the region for the region’ manufacturing strategy."
SKF Expanding Manufacturing Footprint in North America
SKF plans to invest SEK 700 million to build a new greenfield facility in Monterrey, Mexico. According to the company, this new facility will help with its efforts to regionalize production to more easily meet customer demand in the North American market.
The new facility will aid the manufacture of products for the growing electric vehicle drivetrain and commercial vehicle markets in the region as well as those for industrial applications. SKF said in its press release announcing the investment the facility will provide a strong regional base for the development and manufacturing of its high-performance deep-groove ball bearings (DGBB) for car manufacturers and tapered roller bearings (TRB) for industrial and commercial vehicle applications.
"These investments are an important step in further strengthening our capability and offers within the EV and commercial vehicle segments in North America, whilst at the same time securing a regional supply chain that complements our existing capabilities in Europe and Asia. Monterrey is strategically located: near many of our customers and partners in Mexico, with developed logistics channels to major distribution hubs in the USA. With this solid base to build from, we will be able to reinforce our position as a global, leading supplier to the electric and commercial vehicle markets," said David Johansson, President, Automotive, in the company's press release.
SKF expects the first production lines at the new facility to open in mid-2023. It is bringing together expertise from its teams in the Americas, India, China and Europe to ensure the technology and competence at the facility meets company and customer requirements.
READ MORE: Nearshoring Gains Attention as Supply Chain Issues Linger
Schaeffler Completes Acquisition of Ewellix
On January 3, the Schaeffler Group completed its acquisition of Ewellix which will be operated as an additional business working closely with Schaeffler's industrial team.
According to the companies, their products and expertise complement one another. "This is particularly true in the high-growth areas of electromechanics, efficiency optimization, automation, and robotics," said Dr. Stefan Spindler, CEO Schaeffler Industrial, in a press release announcing the completion of the acquisition.
In addition to working together as a single team to combine expertise and development capabilities, Schaeffler will provide support for further growth of the Ewellix brand. The overall goal is for the companies to be global leaders in linear motion and electromechanical actuation said Ralf Moseberg, Head of Industrial Automation at Schaeffler.
Schaeffler first announced its plans to acquire Ewellix in July 2022. In its press release announcing its acquisition plans, Schaeffler stated that linear technology is expected to be a major driver of growth in the global industrial technology business in the coming years, with high-growth sectors to include:
- industrial automation,
- robotics,
- medical technology,
- food and beverage, and
- mobile machinery.
As Ewellix has been a strong player in linear technology and these markets, bringing the companies together made sense to capitalize on the growing market opportunities.
READ MORE about Ewellix's latest product introduction, the SmartX digital platform for linear motion devices, which will be among its products on display at CONEXPO/IFPE 2023.
