Zurich, Switzerland, April 3, 1996 - ABB, the international electrical engineering company, has signed an agreement with Newcor Inc., of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA, to purchase its subsidiary division, Wilson Automation, a major American supplier of automated systems for the manufacture of automotive engine and transmission systems. Wilson Automation employs 150 people and is located in Warren, Michigan. Through its widely acknowledged expertise it has become a major supplier to the US$ 200 - 300 million a year North American engine and transmission market.
ABB`s engine and transmission assembly systems are presently designed and built by ABB Flexible Automations operations in Langenfeld, Germany. The acquisition of Wilson Automation will bring together the skills, experience and complementary product lines of both companies and give ABB a leading worldwide position in this market. ABB will become the only engine and transmission assembly supplier to have complete design and build capability in both Europe and North America. This combination will enable ABB to offer its customers global optimization in system design and assembly processes which will improve their productivity and flexibility while reducing costs.
In an earlier announcement on March 28, 1996, ABB also said it had acquired the Italian company Sapri spa, a specialist in automated arc welding systems. Sapri is located near Bologna and employs 30 people. The company has particular strengths in the design and supply of robot-controlled arc welding systems and peripheral equipment. Since arc welding is the world`s largest application for robots, this acquisition will strengthen ABB`s leading position in flexible automation systems. There are 50,000 ABB robots currently in commercial use around the world.
ABB`s flexible automation business employs approximately 4,200 people worldwide with revenues of US$ 1.4 billion from a wide range of applications in the industrial and automotive market sectors including welding, material handling, machine tending, assembly and painting. The business is part of ABB`s Industrial and Building Systems segment, which employs approximately 90,000 people worldwide with orders in 1995 of over US$ 16 billion.
The ABB Group employs approximately 210,000 people with orders in 1995 of over US$ 36 billion. (End)