In January of 2025, Orion Innovation Partners, Inc. was formed as the amalgamation and evolution of Mercer Midwest, a business that originated in Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan, and now also serves the Rocky Mountain region ((Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho), following their merger with RM Elec Spec.
Southwire is pleased to announce upcoming changes to its executive leadership team, including the addition of two new executive leaders. To better equip the business to respond to market needs, two new executive leadership positions, Executive Vice President (EVP), Residential and Commercial Group, and EVP, Utility and Industrial Group, have been created. Additionally, the position of EVP of Operational Excellence will become EVP of Operations with expanded responsibilities. These three positions report through the leadership of Chief Operating Officer Norman Adkins.
Emerson and Aspen Technology, Inc. have recently announced that they have reached an agreement under which Emerson will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of AspenTech not already owned by Emerson for $265.00 per share pursuant to an all-cash tender offer. The transaction values the minority stake being acquired at $7.2 billion, and values the total company at a fully diluted market capitalization of $17.0 billion with an enterprise value of $16.8 billion. Emerson currently owns approximately 57% of AspenTech’s outstanding shares of common stock following Emerson’s 55% majority investment completed in 2022. Upon the closing of the transaction, AspenTech will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Emerson.
Recently, Schneider Electric and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), announced the election of Aamir Paul, President of North America Operations for Schneider Electric, to NAM’s Board of Directors. Executives on the NAM Board, which comprises leaders representing companies of all sizes in every industrial sector, are the driving force behind the organization’s efforts. In his capacity, Aamir will join leaders from businesses like General Motors, Dow Inc., Northrup Grumman, Johnson & Johnson, Intel, and Fluor, to bolster the association’s energy, sustainability, and industrial expertise, helping to shape policy advocacy, legal action, workforce solutions, and operational excellence.
ABB Electrification’s Smart Buildings Division and Wieland Electric have recently announced a strategic partnership to revolutionize modular and serial construction with advanced prefabricated electrical installation systems. The collaboration combines Wieland’s innovative connector technology with ABB’s extensive portfolio – including switches, sockets, installation boxes, energy distribution, and smart home solutions – to deliver plug-and-play electrical installation for greater efficiency in modular and serial construction projects.
This month, NOARK Electric joins their parent company, the CHINT Group, a global smart energy solutions provider, in unveiling their global 2030 sustainable development strategy, marking a milestone in their commitment to building a diversified future. The strategy was launched in collaboration with thousands of supply chain partners and Chief Sustainability officers (CSOs) of the Group’s key subsidiaries.
RS has recently welcomed Abhishek Singh — an expert in commercial transformations, go-to-market strategy, sales excellence, pricing and segmentation, and capability building — to the executive leadership team as the new Vice President of Margin Management, Pricing, and Procurement. Abhishek brings more than 16 years of experience in consumer analytics, advanced statistical modeling, pricing and procurement, and corporate strategy for the manufacturing and distribution industry to his new role.
Littelfuse, Inc. has recently announced that David Heinzmann, President and Chief Executive Officer, has informed the Board of Directors of his intention to retire as President and CEO. The Board has appointed Dr. Greg Henderson, a member of the Littelfuse Board of Directors, as President and Chief Executive Officer effective February 10, 2025. Mr. Heinzmann will remain on the Littelfuse Board through April 2025 and, to support a seamless transition, serve as an advisor to the Company through August 10, 2025.
LUTZE is excited to announce the opening of its new facility in Sparks, Nevada. This strategic expansion marks a significant milestone in the company’s commitment to enhancing service for its customers and distribution partners across the Western United States. Until now, LUTZE has served the entire North American market from its headquarters in Charlotte, NC. With the addition of the Sparks location, LUTZE aims to improve delivery times and elevate customer service levels for its partners in the western region.
Omron Automation Americas recently announced Xilix Systems as a new partner in the Omron System Integrator program. This collaboration highlights Xilix Systems’ extensive expertise in integration, automation, and machine design, particularly in complex motion applications. Having worked with Omron PMAC technologies for several years, Xilix Systems is uniquely positioned to enhance its offerings. This partnership will enable Xilix Systems to deliver more advanced solutions and services, fostering innovation in new process equipment development.
Emerson has won the “Industrial IoT Innovation of the Year” award for its DeltaV Workflow Management software at the 9th annual IoT Breakthrough Awards. The award recognizes Emerson’s next generation, software-as-a-service solution to help life sciences companies more efficiently develop, scale and manufacture life-changing cell and gene therapies. Designed specifically for companies in early-stage development with limited IT infrastructure, DeltaV Workflow Management provides a cloud-based solution that transitions drug recipe workflow data from paper-based records to digital records, providing a simple and scalable solution with no coding experience required.
RS offers the new Phoenix Contact TRIO3 Power Supplies — the world’s first power supplies with integrated circuit breakers. Designed to help machine builders overcome common challenges, these compact, plug-and-play power supplies offer space, energy, and cost savings, easy handling, and smart diagnostics, like the rest of the TRIO POWER range, and add integrated multi-channel circuit breakers for superior device protection and system performance.
In 1975, the Germany-based Weidmüller Group established a U.S. manufacturing headquarters in Chesterfield County, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond. Weidmuller USA is proud to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2025, marking five decades as a pioneer of innovation in smart industrial connectivity and automation products and solutions. A highlight of the company’s year-long commemoration of this 50 year milestone anniversary is a grand opening event in Spring 2025 of its 24,000 square-foot engineering and manufacturing facility, which was completed in Fall 2024.
Molex, a parent to Phillips Medisize, recently announced that it has completed, through an affiliate, a previously announced acquisition of Vectura Group Ltd. (Vectura) from Vectura Fertin Pharma Inc., a subsidiary of Philip Morris International Inc. Phillips Medisize is a major provider in the design and manufacturing of innovative products for the pharmaceutical drug delivery, in vitro diagnostic and medtech markets. With the addition of Vectura, the company now offers a wider range of formulation, device design, combination product development and manufacturing services.
Beckhoff was delighted to announce that the company had been nominated for the Best of Industry Award 2024 in the Artificial Intelligence category back in mid-December of 2024. This prestigious award, presented by the Vogel Communications Group, honors outstanding innovations in the industry. Beckhoff’s TwinCAT 3 Machine Learning Creator is one of the top 3 innovations in its category. Votes were open for 5 months, and over 20,000 votes were collected across 15 different categories. Beckhoff is proud to be among the finalists and is thankful to everyone who supported by voting.
With the intelligent SIRIUS 3RC7 link module, Siemens is now offering a quick and easy way to achieve complete data transparency down to the field level. The plug-and-play expansion module is designed to combine information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) with minimal installation and commissioning effort. This means that the data available at the consumer can also be used efficiently. According to Siemens, the intelligent link modules SIRIUS 3RC7 can be seamlessly integrated into the existing automation environment as part of the automation concept Totally Integrated Automation (TIA).