Shenzhen Bauzer Investment Group Co. has acquired Engineering Services Inc., which makes a variety of robots for manufacturing, healthcare, and law enforcement.
Toronto-based ESI said that it expects to continue its operations in Canada. The company develops mobile robots, robotic arms, surgical robots, and custom robots. ESI also plans to work on personal robots.
ESI’s clients include Canada’s atomic energy and space agencies, as well as two hospitals and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Clearpath Robotics also serves the Canadian defense industry, but its CEO Matt Rendall has talked about refocusing Clearpath on industrial and autonomous robots.
Shenzhen, China-based Shenzhen Bauzer plans to invest a total of $300 million in the acquisition, continuing research and development, and marketing. Grand View Research Inc. predicts that funding for mobile robotics will grow in the next six years, particularly for military, service, and consumer applications.
Other automation acquisitions
Bimba Manufacturing Co., which specializes in pneumatic, hydraulic, and electrical actuators, as well as valves and safety products for industrial automation, has acquired Intek Products Inc. The Warrendale, Pa.-based company makes linear actuator products.
“This acquisition will significantly enhance Bimba’s electric actuator offering and extend our commitment to offer our customers a choice of complete pneumatic, hydraulic, and electric motion options,” said Pat Ormsby, president of Bimba. University Park, Ill.-based Bimba was the first actuator company in North America to become ISO-certified.
Sarcos buys Raytheon unit
Salt Lake City-based consortium Sarcos LC has completed its acquisition of Raytheon’s Sarcos unit. In 2007, Raytheon acquired Sarcos, which has developed robotics for the U.S. government and Fortune 100 companies.
Sarcos plans to commercialize its exoskeleton tech.
Sarcos has cumulative revenues of more than $350 million and has spun off four technology companies. Its products include the XOS-2 exosuit, the teleoperated Dextrous Arm and a snake robot used by the U.S. Navy, and micro-machined guideware and micro-catheters for medical procedures (acquired by Boston Scientific).
“For the past seven years, Sarcos has been solely focused on developing cutting-edge technologies used by governmental agencies,” said Fraser Smith, Sarcos president and CEO. “With this acquisition, we are able to refocus the business to commercialize our past innovations, while developing new products for solving global challenges as they relate to robotics, medical devices, and the Internet of Things.”
Bimba and Sarcos didn’t disclose the terms of their agreements.
Inventec flexes automated arm plans
Inventec Corp. plans to spend $20 million to $30 million on increasing the number of robotic arms it uses to make notebook computers from about 200 to 3,000 in a year. The Taipei, Taiwan-based company plans to design robotic arms and share the technologies with “interested makers.”
The investment into robotics is the third phase of Inventec’s Industry 4.0 plan to increase efficiency. Last fiscal year, Inventec focused on system integration and automation, and this year, it plans to integrate its systems with enterprise resource planning and product lifecycle management. The company expects to ship 100 million devices in 2015.
Inventec said that each robotic arm can replace one or two human workers, and it expects to recoup the cost in seven to eight months.
