Acquisition to change face of industrial fractional HP motors market

AMETEK, Inc. finalized the acquisition of the German small motor company Dunkermotoren GmbH on May 21, 2012.

Source: IMS Research (IHS Inc.)

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AMETEK, Inc. finalized the acquisition of the German small motor company Dunkermotoren GmbH on May 21, 2012. The company joined AMETEK as part of the Precision Motion Control division of AMETEK’s Electromechanical Group. IMS Research (recently acquired by IHS Inc.) has identified AMETEK and Dunkermotoren as two of the top 10 manufacturers of industrial fractional HP motors around the world, and the acquisition is expected to boost AMETEK’s market share substantially.

AMETEK and Dunkermotoren’s products complement each other in several industries including factory automation and medical. Dunkermotoren is a competitive manufacturer of industrial small motors in Europe and Asia, which will be beneficial to AMETEK in building a stronger presence outside of the Americas.

“Multiple acquisitions by other leading motor manufacturers such as ABB, Regal Beloit and Nidec have really changed the competitive landscape for industrial fractional HP motor suppliers,” said Bryan Turnbough, market research analyst with IMS Research. “Since the downturn, larger companies have been finding new areas of growth through acquisitions while smaller companies are struggling to keep up. This is changing the competitive dynamics of the industrial fractional HP motors market, which is growing between 3% and 4% annually.”

According to IMS Research, major acquisitions by companies such AMETEK and Regal Beloit of other notable players in the market are driving the top half of the market to become much more consolidated compared to the bottom half. IMS Research’s study The World Market for Industrial Fractional Horsepower Motors indicates the market leaders for fractional HP DC motors are typically precision oriented companies such as AMETEK and Dunkermotoren while smaller companies producing standard products with low margins struggle to compete with these high-end manufacturers.

AMETEK’s acquisition is a sign that activity in the industrial fractional HP motors market has not slowed despite the low single-digit annual growth. The substantial increase in revenues from the acquisition is likely to bolster a much stronger market share position for Ametek, and may threaten the dominance of the top two suppliers, Maxon and Faulhaber. This move by AMETEK has given industrial fractional HP motors suppliers big and small a lot to consider as the landscape of the market continues to change.