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CP Automation acquires Magnetek’s UK elevator business

03 September, 2020

Scunthorpe-based CP Automation has acquired Bedford-based Magnetek Elevator UK, which supplies AC and DC drives for geared and gearless lift applications. CP says that the deal will establish it as a leading supplier of drives to the vertical transportation industry. 

CP has acquired Magnetek from the US-based Columbus McKinnon Corporation which itself acquired the Magnetek brand for $188.9m in 2015. The financial details of the deal have not been revealed.

CP Automation says that the acquisition, which is part of wider growth plans, will bolster its product offering in the elevator market and will ensure that existing Magnetek customers continue to access products and customer support in the EMEA, Australia and New Zealand. CP plans to integrate Magnetek’s Bedford office into its organisation, and has agreed to take on Magnetek Elevator’s sales and support staff, ensuring a seamless transition for customers and employees.

“Since 2017, we have stocked Magnetek products to provide integrated engineering systems for the crane industry and have worked together on countless previous projects in the elevator and escalator sector,” explains CP Automation director, Tony Young. “This acquisition is an extension of an existing partnership and part of CP Automation’s strategy to now establish the business as a go-to supplier in the elevator sector.

“By offering a unique combination of drives, elevator-specific products and technical expertise, we’ll be helping our customers to modernise outdated and inefficient elevator technology as well as capitalise on energy saving and power quality solutions in new installations,” Young continues. “For example, opting for the latest energy regenerative controls, can result in energy and cost savings as well as increased equipment reliability.”

“We are confident that the access of Magnetek Elevator drives through CP Automation will continue to provide the high-quality products and support customers have come to expect,” adds Edward Butte, Columbus McKinnon’s director of product management and strategy. “CP Automation is in a unique position to expand the breadth of repair, as well as on-site support and training services in the EMEA market for both new and existing Magnetek Elevator customers.”

Magnetek's portfolio includes its HPV elevator drives which offer closed-loop vector control and high overload capacities.

CP Automation specialises in the supply, repair and field service of industrial AC drives, resistors, DC drives, PLCs and inverters.

Magnetek’s history dates back to 1984 with the formation, in the US, of Litton's Magnetics Group, which included Louis Allis Drives & Systems. In 1986, Magnetek acquired the Power Controls Corporation and in 1999 Electromotive Systems and Mondel Engineering, adding electrification, control products and brakes to its portfolio. In 1984 Magnetek sold its motors business to AO Smith and in 2001, Yaskawa bought MagneTek’s AC inverter business for $28m in cash in a bid to become the US drives market-leader. Yaskawa, which had previously manufactured drives for MagneTek, started to promote the products under its own name.

When Columbus McKinnon acquired the Magnetek brand in 2015, the business was claimed to be North America's largest independent supplier of digital drives, radio controls, software, and accessories for industrial cranes and hoists. It was also the largest independent supplier of digital DC motion control systems for elevators.




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