July/August 2018

39 www.drivesncontrols.com July/August 2018 ACQUISITIONS customers’ needs; profitable and recurring aftermarket revenue streams; high cash conversion with efficient manufacturing; and scope to adopt a buy-and-build strategy with creation of global platforms. The technology advantage Automation suppliers are adopting new technologies and software to serve their customers better, including: application engineering Evolving technologies to “engineer” cost out of products, thus increasing efficiency, reducing weight and reducing CO 2 emissions; condition monitoring Automation systems with integrated sensors providing predictive fault and maintenance requirements for products in the field, reducing unplanned downtime significantly for end-users; and the Internet of Things (IoT) Embedded connected sensors in products that use algorithms to convert raw data into value- added information to allow end-users to run operations more efficiently (IHS Markit estimates that the global IoT market is growing 12% a year) How much are acquirers paying? Some of the recent M&A transactions in the automation sector are shown on page 41. More Speed. More Automation. More Schematic. EPLAN Cogineer. www.eplancogineer.co.uk