Industry News - December 2018

JW Winco

Opens New Branch in Mexico

JW Winco, Inc., A Ganter Company, has announced it has opened a new branch in Mexico at Parque industrial Makro, Bodega 10, Santa Catarina, N.L. 66359. The new branch in Mexico, which has more than 1,200 square feet of office space and over 10,000 square feet of warehouse space, is newly built and features a modern design.
“We will be stocking over 4,000 parts initially to improve our service to our customers in Mexico,” said Carlos Cantu, the office’s general manager. “The building features great logistics that will enable us to provide quick delivery to our customers throughout Mexico. The branch will provide our clients with local support and technical training and, of course we will continuously add new products to fulfill our client’s needs when it comes to a wide selection of metal and plastic standard machine components.”
JW Winco has made various improvements to its Spanish website that includes updating the navigation to show subgroups, the Spanish website has 3D CAD and online buying, and is viewable at the website below. (www.jwwinco.mx)

Altra Industrial Motion

Completes Combination with Fortive’s Automation and Specialty Platform

Altra Industrial Motion Corp. has announced the completion of Altra’s combination with four operating companies from Fortive’s Automation & Specialty platform (“Fortive A&S”), including market leading brands Kollmorgen, Thomson, Portescap and Jacobs Vehicle Systems.

With the combination complete, Altra is positioned to drive growth and value creation through its industry leading positions in the precision motion control market, a stronger position at the higher end of the technology spectrum, increased exposure to higher growth, higher margin end-markets and an enhanced financial profile. The company’s vast combined product portfolio will provide expanded single-source convenience and value to customers in a wide range of industries including, medical, robotics, aerospace, electronics, metals, food & beverage, material handling, transportation, off-highway, mining, oil & gas, metals and factory automation.

“We are pleased to complete this combination and move forward as a premier industrial company with leading positions across key markets,” said Carl Christenson, chairman and chief executive officer of Altra. “In addition to our foundational power transmission businesses, we can now provide our customers with a broader suite of products and solutions, including sophisticated precision motors, drives and controls; engineered linear motion systems; miniature motors; and a leading portfolio of braking technologies. We are excited about the opportunities we see to drive innovation and deliver enhanced value for customers and stockholders alike.” (www.altraindustrialmotion.com)

Motion Industries

Acquires Hydraulic Supply Company

Motion Industries, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company, announced that it has acquired Hydraulic Supply Company (HSC). Execution of the transaction was completed on October 1, 2018.

Jim Inglis, HSC CEO, said, “I’m grateful to see our company able to continue growing as a division of Motion Industries — a great cultural fit and shared values. I’m extremely thankful for all that the Hydraulic Supply Company team members have done for me, my family and for each other over the last 71 years. I know that under Motion Industries leadership it’s going to continue to be a fun and exciting future.”

HSC president John Serra added, “When we began to explore selling HSC, culture was always at the very top of our concerns. Spending time with Motion’s executive team quickly resolved those concerns. Coupling that with Motion’s vision to see HSC operate as a vertical business unit within Motion’s existing footprint, assured both Jim Inglis and me that we didn’t need to look any further.”

Founded in 1947, HSC is a full service distributor, offering customers a wide selection from over 8,000 hydraulic, pneumatic, and industrial products. Its team of experienced technicians provide a wide variety of services including hydraulic repair, hose assembly and kitting, tube bending and flaring, and manual valve assembly. In addition, HSC has a strong reputation in the market for being a solutions provider for customers in a wide range of industries, from agriculture to mining to transportation.

“We are pleased to welcome HSC to the Motion team,” said Kevin Storer, executive vice president U.S. operations and president of Motion Mexico. “The addition of HSC further expands our reach and commitment to Motion’s customers in the fluid conveyance channel.”

Tony Cefalu, Motion Industries senior vice president conveyance solutions group, shops and service centers, said, “Hydraulic Supply Company’s culture, team and geographic coverage are a wonderful fit for Motion Industries. We are excited to work with John Serra to grow and expand the footprint of the company that Jim Inglis and his father built. HSC will operate as a vertical division within Motion’s Conveyance Solutions Group.”

Headquartered near Miami, Florida, HSC serves customers throughout and beyond its 30 location footprint, mainly in the Southeast U.S. HSC also conducts international sales through its office in Monterrey, Mexico. (motionindustries.com)

Festo

Acquires Fabco-Air

Festo recently announced the acquisition of Fabco-Air, Gainesville, Fla., a manufacturer of pneumatic automation components. The acquisition is the latest in a series of investments to support sales growth in North America.

Fabco-Air’s NPT pneumatic cylinders are applied by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) on new machinery and systems as well as replacement components in the Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) market. Like Festo, Fabco-Air provides custom solutions that bring machines and systems to market faster with less engineering required by equipment manufacturers. Fabco-Air, which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary, will continue to operate independently and will remain in Gainesville. Festo and Fabco-Air implementation teams are working together on sales channel and product catalog integration strategies.

“This new association with Festo provides Fabco-Air with the resources to grow larger and faster than otherwise possible,” said Scot LaMar, Fabco-Air general manager. “Importantly for our employees and customers, Festo has a similar culture that comes from being a family owned business. It was a key consideration in the decision to join the Festo team.”

“Festo customers and sales channel partners are excited to have the expanded product range available for their applications,” said Michael Zakrzewski, vice president of marketing management — North America. “The acquisition of Fabco-Air quickly broadens our product line, creating opportunities to fulfill more customer requirements with a strong focus on customer satisfaction.” (www.festo.us)

SDP/SI

Adds 3D Printing Service

Stock Drive Products/Sterling Instrument (SDP/SI), recently acquired the 3D Systems ProJet MJP 2500 Plus 3D printer. A high-quality printer, the 3D Systems ProJet MJP 2500 Plus uses a liquid polymer that has a variety of material properties and can create parts in three different colors, black, white, and translucent.

The new ProJet printer is utilized for orders of individual components, such as a gear or pulley, to more complex drive assemblies. Primarily used for prototypes and low volume production, this machine has the ability to produce high-accuracy components similar to those made with injection molding.

“Using the material jetting process, the polymer is dispensed in 32μ/layers (less than a human hair) with an accuracy of +/-.001per inch or better and then UV cured,” said Mike Yandolino, senior sales engineer. This enables the creation of highly accurate drive components, allowing the engineer to assess the design for form, fit, and function before moving into high-volume production.

Yandolino continued: “Although a new process for us, we have completed a number of projects with outstanding results. Being able to deliver a component or assembly into the engineers hand for design review quickly and at a cost savings is a tremendous benefit, resulting in better designs and manufacturability.”

In addition to 3D printing prototypes, SDP/SI manufactures high-quality machined parts, molded components, and precision gearing for a wide variety of product applications in medical, aerospace, defense, robotics, and commercial industries. (www.sdp-si.com)

United Stars

Acquires Precision Gears

United Stars, Inc. has announced it has acquired Precision Gears, Inc., a nearly 100-year old producer of custom gears for agriculture, food equipment, power transmission and industrial applications, based in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.  The transaction represents another in a long series of similar acquisitions for United Stars over the past three decades, with each of its subsidiaries serving a range of end markets and their blue-chip OEM and Tier ١ customers with precision engineered metal products at the highest quality levels.

“Precision Gears is an excellent addition to the United Stars family in a number of ways,” comments Richard Van Lanen, president/COO of United Stars, Inc.  “Not only does it extend our gear manufacturing capabilities and applications footprint, it also offers great synergies with our other businesses for certain key customers and end markets. Above all else, Precision Gears is known for their outstanding quality and overall customer centric approach, which makes them a perfect fit with the rest of our portfolio.  We are very excited about their future potential and look forward to leveraging United Stars extensive corporate resources to help fuel their growth.”

Precision Gears becomes United Stars 3rd gear manufacturer, joining United Gear & Assembly (Hudson, WI) acquired in 1996 and Gear Tec (Willoughby, OH) acquired in 2007. Similar to UGA and Gear Tec, United Stars plans to further extend and enhance Precision Gears capabilities through select gear manufacturing equipment investments which complement its skilled workforce.

United Stars will continue to seek out and acquire other leading small to mid-size manufacturers like Precision Gears and develop its portfolio of value-based, engineered product solutions for its fast expanding global customer base. (www.ustars.com)