With the go-ahead from anti-trust authorities, ZF Friedrichshafen AG has officially closed its acquisition of the industrial gears and wind turbine gearbox business of Bosch Rexroth AG.
As previously announced, ZF is taking over the two production locations of Bosch Rexroth in Witten, Germany, with almost 900 employees, and in Beijing, China, with approximately 300 employees, as well as the service location in Lake Zurich, Ill., with 15 employees.
The two companies have agreed to not disclose the purchase price.
Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF, says, "We are extending our portfolio with large transmissions for industrial applications and mobile machinery through to tunnel drilling machines and 600-ton mining excavators. The product range will also be extended in the wind power technology business unit with gearboxes for turbines generating up to 8 MW."
Two newly founded companies will be added to the industrial gears business unit in the guise of ZF Industrieantriebe Witten GmbH and ZF Powertrain Systems (Beijing) Co. Ltd. At the Beijing location, gearboxes for ZF's wind power segment are being produced; as a result, the company is further extending its presence in the wind gearbox market in China.
"We see ideal future opportunities for the industrial technology division, especially in wind power technology," explains Wilhelm Rehm, responsible for corporate materials management and industrial technology on the ZF board of management. ‘Strengthening ZF's non-automotive segment is an important objective of our long-term corporate strategy. We are supplementing our industrial technology portfolio optimally while also opening up access to new markets and customer groups."
