Industrial Drive Technology (IDT)
Siemens takes over drive division from ebm-papst
Siemens is to acquire the Industrial Drive Technology (IDT) division from ebm-papst. The two companies have now signed an agreement to this effect.
The IDT business of ebm-papst comprises mechatronic drive systems, drive control and regulation electronics as well as drive-steering systems for driverless transport vehicles. The planned acquisition complements the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio and is intended to strengthen Siemens' position as a provider of solutions for flexible manufacturing automation. All of the approximately 650 employees of the IDT Group will be taken over by Siemens once the transaction has been completed.
The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-2025 and is subject to foreign trade and merger control approvals. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. ebm-papst's IDT business is located at the German sites in St. Georgen and Lauf an der Pegnitz as well as in Oradea, Romania. The production of drives, which is currently still located at the St. Georgen plant in Hagenmoos, will be relocated to Oradea, so that the plant in St. Georgen will only produce fan components in future.
ebm-papst already spun off its IDT business unit as an independent division in mid-2022 so that it could "focus on the specific market needs, detached from the requirements in ventilation and heating technology", as stated. "The sale of IDT is part of the consistent implementation of the corporate strategy 'Building the future together', which has been in place since 2022," explains Dr Klaus Geißdörfer, CEO of the ebm-papst Group. "With this strategy, ebm-papst wants to focus on its core business of ventilation and heating technology and accelerate the transformation of the company in terms of sustainability and digitalisation as well as international expansion. We will use the proceeds from the sale of the IDT business to further expand the Air Technology and Heating Technology divisions, to further strengthen our three regions of Europe, Asia and America and to invest in future areas such as digitalisation and the sustainability of our product portfolio."
The acquisition by Siemens is a strategically significant step for ebm-papst: "What our IDT business lacked until now was a global sales organisation for maximum growth," explains Geißdörfer. "Siemens is a long-standing customer and a company with strong international market penetration and an extensive customer base." The integration that has now been agreed will give the IDT business global market access.
"ebm-papst's innovative portfolio of mechatronic drive systems and its highly qualified employees are an excellent fit for Siemens," says Cedrik Neike, member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Digital Industries. "With this acquisition, we are tapping into new business and customer potential in the fast-growing market for intelligent, battery-powered drive solutions in intralogistics and mobile robot solutions." Siemens sees ebm-papst's IDT products as an "important lever for greater flexibility and productivity" because they are suitable for mobile robots and driverless transport vehicles as well as for the automation of auxiliary processes, such as the retooling of modern production machines. Siemens therefore expects high growth in this market segment.
