Applied Industrial Technologies is staying on its steady acquisition trail, with the company announcing Wednesday that it has acquired Advanced Control Solutions out of Marietta, GA.
ACS is a distributor of automation products, services and engineered solutions that focus on machine vision equipment and software, mobile and collaborative robots, intelligent sensors, logic controllers and other related equipment. It builds upon Applied's August 2019 acquisition of fellow automation solutions provider Olympus Controls Corp. (Tualatin, OR).
"The addition of ACS extends and enhances our automation offering by providing next-generation automation solutions through emerging technologies and specialized engineering services," said Neil Schrimsher, Applied president & CEO. “Their strong Southeast presence brings established customer relationships and supplier partnerships, plus an experienced team with valuable capabilities including state-of-the-art automation training and machine vision engineering expertise."
Founded in 1998, ACS has 43 employees who serve customers throughout Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee from four locations: Marietta, GA; Spring Hill (Nashville), TN; Knoxville, TN; and Birmingham, AL. The company participates in a variety of end markets common to Applied, namely life sciences, packaging and logistics, industrial manufacturing and automotive.
"As we’ve previously stated, automation is an expanding vertical for Applied that is further differentiating our value proposition, diversifying our end-market mix, and enhancing our growth profile," Schrimsher added. ACS represents the next step in this strategic opportunity following our August 2019 acquisition of Olympus Controls. We expect their combined capabilities and supplier alignment to drive near-term sales synergies, as well as cross-selling opportunities tied to our leading technical industry position and embedded customer relationships across industrial end markets. We welcome ACS into our company and look forward to leveraging their innovative technology and capabilities to further accelerate growth and value creation for Applied’s stakeholders."
The two other most recent acquisitions for Applied — No. 8 on Industrial Distribution's 2020 Big 50 List — were Baldwinsville, NY-based Fluid Power Sales in November 2018 and a $784 million purchase of Columbus, OH-based FCX Performance in February 2018.
