Yaskawa Electric Corporation's European subsidiary, is acquiring VIPA which is based in Germany.
With this integration of VIPA, Yaskawa is implementing its plan to complete its product portfolio to become a ‘Total Solution Provider’.
A combination of VIPA’s product portfolio of PLCs, I/O modules and HMI, with Yaskawa’s inverter, AC servo and robot product lines, will enable Yaskawa to offer a comprehensive automation solution portfolio for a diverse set of markets.
"VIPA is a perfect fit for Yaskawa. There are no overlaps in our product portfolios, but they are very complementary with much synergies to be expected," said Koichi Takamiya, CEO and Regional Head for Yaskawa Europe.
"The tight cooperation with the global Yaskawa organization provides great growth opportunities for VIPA, particularly in Asia and the Americas," explains Wolfgang Seel, CEO of VIPA.
"Beside the synergies resulting from the combined and integrated product portfolio, there are more benefits for existing and new Yaskawa customers," said Manfred Stern, President of Yaskawa Europe.
However industry analysts are less than impressed. Writing an opinion column on the ARC Advisory Group website, David Humphrey likened it to the union of the last two singles at a 30 something singles party.
Founded in 1915, Yaskawa Electric is considered a leading supplier of variable speed drives, motion control, and robotics.
VIPA was founded in 1985 in Germany as a system house for automation engineering.
After the first PC-based machine operating panel there were further developments of control and communication modules. The first customers were from the automotive and food industry, for which it undertook engineering and machine and plant construction.
The introduction of the modular automation System 200V was the basis for creating more powerful, faster and more reliable control systems.