Emerson to acquire factory automation component maker Afag

Industrial automation systems leader Emerson to acquire Switzerland based precision engineering automation focused mechanical component maker Afag for an undisclosed sum. Afag is known for providing leading solutions for electric linear motion, adding into Emerson’s pneumatic motion technology to serve the end markets such as battery manufacturing, automotive, packaging, medical, life sciences and electronics. To give you an idea of what exactly the latest components Afag makes: Afag has recently launched a electrical small parts gripper with integrated control for electronics manufacturing and such other industries. The SGE-40-P-IOL control via IO-Link enables the pre-positioning of the gripper fingers, the setting of the gripping force, the evaluation of the gripper status including gripping direction and the setting of special gripping modes. Depending on the specific handling situation, users can set the gripping force in four steps to 100, 75, 50 or 25 percent, and thus adapt it to sensitive workpieces.
Emerson through this acquisition to expand its served market by more than $9 billion and is expected to grow mid-single digits annually, supporting Emerson’s long-term, profitable organic growth. “Afag brings exciting technology that will enable Emerson to accelerate growth in ou...