Siemens announced plans to acquire Massachusetts-based Russelectric, a well-known U.S. manufacturer of power control systems including paralleling switchgear and automatic transfer switches, and specialized software company Electrocon International Inc. (EII), an Ann Arbor, MI-based developer of CAPE (Computer-Aided Protection Engineering) software for grid analysis, modeling and simulations.
“As the energy landscape continues to shift, the successful operation of critical facilities more than ever requires reliable, affordable and sustainable power,” said Barry Powell, VP and Business Unit Head, Siemens Low Voltage & Products, North America. “With the Russlectric acquisition, we bring together Siemens’ expertise and experience in the low-voltage power market with Russelectric’s complementary high-quality energy infrastructure portfolio to provide technologies that ensure these critical installations receive uninterrupted, secure power.”
“This acquisition will complement our portfolio in the mission critical, high-quality U.S. energy infrastructure industry, help us leverage Siemens’ global footprint, and ultimately support our customers with a much stronger product and services portfolio.” said Dorian Alexandrescu, Russelectric’s president and CEO, in the press release.
Upon closing of the acquisition, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, Siemens will wholly own Russelectric, which will operate as “Russelectric, a Siemens Business.” Closing is anticipated late 2018 to early 2019. Terms of this transaction are not disclosed.
Russelectric’s approximately 400 employees across its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Hingham, MA, and manufacturing and training hub in Broken Arrow, OK, will be added to Siemens’ existing U.S. footprint of over 50 manufacturing, R&D and digital hubs and its 50,000 U.S. employee base. Founded in 1955, Russelectric provides high-integrity power control solutions for mission critical applications in the healthcare, information technology, telecommunication, water treatment, and renewable energy markets.
EII’s CAPE software will complement Siemens’ Power System Simulation software suite (PSS) to more precisely uncover conditions of potential protective device misoperation and resulting avoidable power outages. This capability will be a key feature to integrate renewable energy resources efficiently and to ensure reliable and efficient grid operation.
The addition of Electrocon’s software to Siemens existing suite of grid simulation planning tools will also further strengthen the company’s electrical digital twin efforts —the ability to build a digital representation of the grid and the major assets in it. The digital twin facilitates the simulation of all technical and economic aspects relevant for reliable, efficient and secure electrical system planning, operation & maintenance.
CAPE will be an extension to the Siemens´ PSS suite deployed at more than 1,000 customers in over 140 countries. Electrocon International Inc.´s experts will join the Digital Grid software and consulting team. Closing of the transaction is expected to be effective Oct. 2018. Both parties have agreed not to disclose financial details.
With approximately 377,000 employees in 190 countries, Siemens reported worldwide revenue of $92 billion in fiscal 2017. Siemens’ U.S. operations reported revenue of $23.3 billion, including $5 billion in exports, and employs approximately 50,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico.