News

Yasakawa Assumes Ownership of MagneTek Drive Products Business

February 19, 2001 by Jeff Shepard

Yaskawa Electric America Inc. (YEA, Waukegan, IL) has assumed ownership and operation of the MagneTek drive products business unit in New Berlin, Wisconsin, formerly a part of the Drives & Systems group of MagneTek Inc. (Nashville, TN). This unit sells, modifies and services general purpose and high-performance ac drives. MagneTek will retain the industrial controls business unit of its drives and systems group, with its specialized manufacturing and applications operations serving the crane and hoist, elevator, mining, power conditioning and fuel cell markets.

Acquisition of the drive products business unit is one of the company's strategies to achieve a global market share goal of 20 percent. YEA currently holds the number two market share position in the United States. The acquisition represents Yaskawa's third major action in the last year intended to penetrate the US market, following the establishment of Synetics Solutions Inc. for semiconductor systems business in June 2000 and the opening of a new development center in Fremont, California in October

2000.