Eaton Sells Vickers CNC Business to Siemens E&A

Eaton Corp (Cleveland, OH) has sold the machine tool controls business of its Vickers Electronic Systems Division (VES) to Siemens Energy and Automation. VES had been acquired as a part of Eaton's purchase of Aeroquip-Vickers Inc in April 1999. Eaton indicated at that time that it would sell the division because it did not fit into the company's longer-term strategy.

The VES business acquired by Siemens develops and manufactures computer numerical controls (CNC) primarily for the machine tool and plastic processing equipment markets. With the acquisition, Siemens gets the advanced A2100 CNC control developed by the then-Cincinnati Milacron. In the first of its divestiture moves Cincinnati Milacron had sold its electronic business to Vickers-Aeroquip. Subsequently, the machine tool business was sold to UNOVA Inc, where it operates as N/A.

The VES business, which generated sales in 1998 of $109 million, develops software and manufacturing-related control hardware, provides retrofit, rebuild, repair, and contract manufacturing services as well as operating an extensive service parts business. Facilities involved in the sale are the 450-employee VES HQ and manufacturing plant in South Lebanon, OH, a retrofitting and remanufacturing facility in Lebanon, OH, that employs 18, and a manufacturing facility in Bedford, England that employs 80.

A fourth facility located in Casella, Italy, which develops and manufactures specialty motors and drives, will be sold separately by Eaton.

Siemens Energy and Automation Inc, 390 Kent Ave, Elk Grove, IL 60007; phone: 847-952-4158