If you’ve been following manufacturing news, you’ll see that Siemens has been making huge waves in terms of divestments and acquisitions over the past few years. Siemens recently spun off several business units worth nearly 3 billion euros into the newly created Innomotics, which is currently up for sale.

On March 21st Siemens unveiled its latest acquisition. In a press release, the company said it plans to acquire ebm-papst’s Industrial Drive Technology (IDT) business, most notably Siemens’ purchase of ebm-papst’s line of ultra-low voltage (60 volts and below) motors. According to the Interact Analysis report released at the end of 2023, the market for such products is rapidly expanding, especially in delivery systems and mobile robot applications.

X20BR9300 Below, we take a closer look at the announcement and explain why we think Siemens is making a smart investment.

What does this deal mean for Siemens’ product line and what is Siemens’ long-term vision?

From a product perspective, the ebm-papst portfolio is a valuable addition to Siemens’ current product line. Although Siemens has been active in the ultra-low voltage (under 60V) inverter market, there has been a lack of supporting motor products. ebm-papst is ranked 13th in the global market with sales of more than $50 million. The majority of its revenue comes from the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region, where it ranks 10th in the regional market. With the acquisition of ebm-papst’s IDT business unit, Siemens will not only be able to leverage its global sales network to expand the market for these products, but also further strengthen its position in the global industrial drive market.

As stated in the official press release issued by Siemens in late March, one of the company’s main objectives with this acquisition is to be able to provide a more complete “… Smart, electric solutions “. While this could include many types of devices, we believe the main target is mobile robot applications.

X20BR9300 Mobile robots are in their early stages of growth. As a solution that mainly relies on battery power, mobile robots usually use 24 volt or 48 volt DC motors (which we call ultra-low voltage motors). As a result, the demand for ultra-low voltage inverters and motors continues to rise. According to Interact Analysis’s ultra-low voltage Drives report, global sales of ultra-low voltage drives for mobile robots will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25.9% to reach $3.1 billion by 2027. Similarly, ultra-low voltage motors, which are widely used in mobile robots, are also expected to experience significant revenue growth, reaching $6.5 billion in revenue by 2027. This surge in demand is mainly attributed to the rapid adoption of mobile robots, especially in warehouse automation applications.

It is also worth noting the rapid growth of ultra-low voltage motors and inverters in the roller conveyor belt market. These products are very compact and typically operate at 12V or 24V, making them ideal applications for ultra-low voltage motors. In addition, most conveyor belt manufacturers choose to purchase motors rather than manufacture them themselves. Suppliers of ultra-low voltage motors consistently emphasize in their communications with us that roller conveyor belts are an important area for future growth. Interact Analysis estimates that this market will nearly double in size by 2030.