Kollmorgen Acquires Maker of Servomotors in the Czech Republic
19 November 1999
Kollmorgen Acquires Maker of Servomotors in the Czech Republic; Adds Major Manufacturing Capability in Central Europe
WALTHAM, Mass.--Nov. 18, 1999--Kollmorgen Corporation announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Semcom s.r.o., a designer and manufacturer of SMB brand brushless servo motors based in Brno, Czech Republic and Dettenheim, Germany.Semcom produces brushless AC synchronous servomotors under the SMB brand. These motors are sold primarily to manufacturers of factory automation equipment for end use in the industrial automation, packaging, textile, semiconductor, woodworking and medical equipment industries. Founded in 1991, the company has built a reputation for competitive products based around high torque-to-inertia ratios over a broad torque and speed range. The motors are sold throughout Western and Eastern Europe.
"This is a small but strategic acquisition for Kollmorgen," said Willy Verbrugghe, president of Kollmorgen's Industrial and Commercial Group. "Europe plays a key role in our future, and the addition of Semcom gives Kollmorgen an important production capability in the heart of central Europe. Semcom's designs are among the most innovative and cost-competitive in the industry and are used by some of the leading manufacturing companies in Europe."
Following the acquisition, Semcom will continue to operate as an independent brand labeler and the SMB sales group in Dettenheim, Germany will continue to serve the company's growing European customer base. Kollmorgen also operates a European sales and customer support center in Dusseldorf. With the addition of the SMB products to Kollmorgen's European-produced family of drives and controls, Kollmorgen can now offer complete servo solution capability, manufactured in Europe for the European market and abroad.
Larry Kingsley, vice president and managing director for Europe, added: "We welcome Dan Grula and Gerd Pfeifer to the Kollmorgen family. The addition of Semcom gives us two significant capabilities here in Europe. First, we can offer a Kollmorgen brand motor product manufactured in Europe to our own rigid specifications, and second, we now have an independent supplier of SMB motors, which will continue to serve the European market." Kollmorgen also announced plans to immediately expand Semcom manufacturing operations into a new facility to be completed next month in Brno.
The acquisition of Semcom is Kollmorgen's third targeted acquisition of the year, following Calzoni in Italy, and New England Affiliated Technologies in Massachusetts. Commenting on the company's acquisition strategy, Kollmorgen CEO Gideon Argov said, "All these businesses fill specific needs for Kollmorgen, and give us important competitive advantages:
-- new and innovative technology to improve time-to-market;
-- complementary product lines to enhance our customer offering;
-- geographic expansion into promising market areas; and
-- more comprehensive systems solutions for our motion control customers."
Kollmorgen is a leading producer of high-performance electronic motion control components and systems. Additional information can be found on the company's Web site at www.kollmorgen.com.
Cautionary Statement
The anticipated benefits associated with this acquisition are forward-looking as defined in the federal securities laws. Expected performance may not be achieved because of a variety of factors including, but not limited to, competition and continued demand for its products, and other risks detailed in Kollmorgen's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Management believes, nonetheless, that the acquisition offers the best strategy commensurate with Kollmorgen's financial objectives.