German automation supplier Hahn Group GmbH has purchased a large U.S. systems integrator and a small German integrator that specializes in robot software and programming.
Hahn acquired REI Automation Inc. in Columbia, S.C., giving the company a hub in the Southeast. REI, with 80 employees and $25 million in sales, will complement Hahn Group's assembly and test division.
REI develops automation systems, specializing in designing and building custom industrial equipment such as assembly lines, robotic cells and special-purpose machine systems. Over the past 30 years, REI has built a customer base in medical, nuclear, consumer goods, electronics and automotive.
"We found a passionate team with an impressive track record building the company in the past and ambitious plans to develop if further," said Philipp Unterhalt, Hahn Group's managing director.
Hahn Group also recently purchased a majority stake in Ruhrbotics GmbH in Recklinghausen in Germany's Ruhr region. The firm employs 12 and specializes in complex robot programming. The business is operating under the name Hahn Ruhrbotics, under the Hahn's robotics division.
Hahn is assembling a network of smaller robot integrators, Unterhalt said.
Daniel Bunse, the founder and former CEO of Ruhrbotics, has taken over the management of Hahn's Rethink Robotics business of collaborative robots.
The former authorized representative, Christopher Drewer, has taken over the management of Hahn Ruhrbotics.