Omron Industrial Automation and Omron Scientific Technologies Inc. announced an internal realignment of support for machine automation systems and safeguarding to satisfy the needs of a wider range of customers, leveraging years of trusted application knowledge from across the company. The sales and support organizations of Omron Industrial Automation and Omron STI will report to the same management while maintaining individual expertise in established areas at their current locations. The path to market using distributors remains unchanged: those specializing in either Automation or Safety will continue with that product portfolio; those distributors authorized for both will support both product categories. Customers will experience "business as usual" when the internal change takes effect on April 1, 2012.

"This sales realignment is the planned next phase of integration to provide our customers powerful machine automation and safety solutions, backed by application expertise and support acknowledged to be the best in the industry," explained Gregg Holst, president/chief operating officer of Omron Industrial Automation for the Americas.

"In 2006, when Omron acquired STI, we started down a path that would allow us to leverage the combined strengths of a global automation company while providing us with the resources to invest in and grow our safety business in a very competitive market," says Jim Ashford, president and chief operating officer of Omron STI. "This arrangement has turned out to be a great success for all of us. The subtle, but important next step in our evolution capitalizes on our organizational synergies and strengthens our ability to deliver exceptional customer value."  

"There are four goals we seek to accomplish with this new arrangement," states Tony Canonaco, Omron STI vice president sales. These include strengthening automation competency, presenting one Omron automation company, providing employee enrichment and transforming the company.

The realignment consolidates internal management responsibilities for automation and safety sales and support into three regions: USA and Canada; Mexico and Latin America; and Brazil. The arrangement enables greater sensitivity to local regulatory requirements to provide appropriate products and systems to customers.