Business briefs

Electrical Apparatus, Jun 1999 by Jones, Kevin

S&C Electric buys two control makers

S&C Electric Co. of Chicago, a maker of high-voltage switching and protection products for the electric power industry, recently bought into two control businesses. The company bought a controlling interest of EnergyLine Systems, Inc., of Alameda, Calif., a manufacturer of switch controls with a patented peer-to-peer auto-reconfiguration system. Like S&C Electric, EnergyLine Systems has worked with a variety of original-equipment customers and suppliers in the electric power distribution and automation field. S&C Electric also bought, outright, Omnion Power Engineering Corp. of East Troy, Wis., a supplier of advanced power electronics and system controls for utility-interconnected energy storage systems. The Omnion organization will become S&C's power electronics division and will remain at its facility in East Troy, according to S&C Electric.

Canadian test lab acquired by Intertek

Intertek Testing Services NA, Inc., of Boxborough, Mass., an electrical and electronics product tester and certifier, recently purchased an electromagnetic compatibility testing facility near Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, from Electrohome Ltd. Intertek Testing Services will use the Kitchener lab, along with its lab in Toronto, to serve Canadian clients. Intertek Testing provides product safety testing and certification, EMC and performance testing, and quality management registration services.

Cooper buys French construction supplier

Houston-based electrical manufacturer Cooper Industries recently bought Capri-Codec SA of Nouan-le-Fuzelier, France, a manufacturer of electrical construction materials with 200 employees and revenues of more than $25 million. Capri's cable accessories and flexible conduits are used by electrical contractors in commercial and industrial installations throughout Europe. The company's products are sold through many of the same wholesalers as Cooper's emergency lighting and fire alarm systems. The company will become part of Cooper's Menvier division, of Banbury, England, which manufactures Cooper's fire alarms and emergency lighting.

Ideal Industries hooks up with connector line

Ideal Industries, Inc., Sycamore, Ill., manufacturer of construction, maintenance, and manufacturing tools, recently announced "the purchase of assets" from Mar-Tek Industries LLC of Eau Claire, Wis., a maker of twist-on wire cables. Ideal's wire accessory line includes connectors, fish tapes, benders, lubricants, hand tools, test equipment, cable ties, wire markers, and heat-shrink tubing.

Lincoln Electric is selling its motor business

Cleveland-based Lincoln Electric is selling its electric motor business to Regal-Beloit Corp. of Beloit, Wis., according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The motor business, with annual sales of about $58 million, is a relatively small part of Lincoln Electric, which had 1998 sales of $1.19 billion. The acquisition includes a recently renovated plant next to Lincoln's Cleveland headquarters that Regal-Beloit would likely lease while integrating Lincoln Electric products with its own, according to James Packard, Regal-Beloit's president and chief executive officer. Although Lincoln Electric was strictly a motor manufacturer when it was founded in 1895, more than 94% of its sales now come from arc welding and robotic welding systems, according to the Journal Sentinel. Regal-Beloit, with sales of about $543 million, doubled in size in 1997 with its acquisition of Marathon Electric, a motor and generator manufacturer based in Wausau, Wis.