Swiss engineering group ABB‘s move to acquire Austrian automation group Bernecker + Rainer (B&R) will strengthen its number two position and bring it closer in line with market leader Siemens, CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer told CNBC.
“We are strengthening our number two position with this acquisition, we are closing up to the number one, which is Siemens, and we are increasing the distance from all the other players,” Spiesshofer said Tuesday, hours after the firm announced that it is to purchase B&R for an undisclosed sum.
The deal marks the initiation of ‘stage three’ of the firm’s overhaul strategy and the start of an “aggressive growth story”, as the firm shifts its focus towards increased investment, Spiesshofer noted.
Stages one and two under Spiesshofer’s leadership involved a period of streamlining across ABB’s four core business areas: electrification products; robotics and motion; industrial automation; and power grids.
