Cincinnati Machine, Lamb Technicon to merge; layoff 15% of staff

Cincinnati, OH; Warren, MI—Cincinnati Machine and Lamb Technicon, both divisions of Unova Inc., announced plans Oct. 1 to combine their business operations to provide more comprehensive products and services to customers in the automotive, aerospace and general machining markets. The firms add the merger

By Control Engineering Staff

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Cincinnati, OH; Warren, MI— Cincinnati Machine Lamb Technicon , both divisions of Unova Inc. , announced plans Oct. 1 to combine their business operations to provide more comprehensive products and services to customers in the automotive, aerospace and general machining markets. The firms add the merger will include personnel reductions, relocations and facilities and product consolidations.

The new division will be headquartered in the Detroit area. The merger will be mostly complete by 4Q03.

'By merging our engineering, production and service talent within a single organization, we will reduce costs, streamline decision making and maximize efficiency,' says Michael Keane, Unova's senior vp and cfo.

Unova expects these moves to incur charges, primarily against its 4Q02 operating results. These charges will include workforce reductions, relocations, rationalization of facilities and the transfer of product lines. Under this consolidated structure, Unova adds that employment in its Industrial Automation Systems group will likely be reduced by at least 15% by the end of 2003. The amount and timing of the related charges will become known as Unova's plans are further developed.

'This new company structure lets us pursue new opportunities that were unavailable to separate organizations,' says Jim Herrman, Unova Industrial Automation Systems' senior vp and group executive. 'Cincinnati's aerospace customers have a strong interest in adopting Lamb's best practices for automotive systems design. Lamb's customers want Cincinnati's expertise in flexible automation cells and high-speed machining. This plan accelerates the delivery of these benefits to customers, while making our entire company more competitive.'

In addition, Unova will merge design responsibility and transfer production of Cincinnati's horizontal machining centers and cellular systems to facilities in the Detroit area. Production of Cincinnati's vertical machining centers and turning centers will remain in the U.K. Also, Cincinnati Plus value-added services, as well as production of Cincinnati's advanced composites and machining equipment serving aerospace customers, will remain in the Cincinnati, OH, area, eventually relocating to more modern, cost-efficient facilities. Lamb will consolidate its metal cutting and body assembly systems operations to facilities in the Detroit area. Excess facilities will be sold or subleased.

Meanwhile, Lamb's operations in Mildenhall, England and Cincinnati Machine's activities in Birmingham, England, will be integrated into a unified management structure. Cincinnati UK's products will continue to be sold through its existing global distribution channel. Lamb's operation in Remscheid, Germany-Honsberg Lamb-also will reduce its existing capacity.

Cincinnati Machine manufactures and supplies composite processing equipment, profilers, routers and five-axis CNC machining centers, horizontal and vertical machining centers and turning centers, serving manufacturing customers in aerospace, heavy equipment and industrial components. Also, Cincinnati Plus provides the manufacturing industry's most comprehensive package of service and support. Lamb Technicon designs and integrates high-volume and flexible machining systems and body assembly systems for the automotive and truck industries.

Control Engineering Daily News Desk
Jim Montague, news editor
jmontague@reedbusiness.com