February 15, 2010 - ABB will acquire 100 percent of the shares in Jokab Safety International AB for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to be completed in March subject to customary regulatory approvals. Founded in Sweden in 1988, Jokab Safety develops innovative products and solutions for machine safety. The company has around 120 employees worldwide, with a presence in Sweden, USA, Canada, Italy, China, France and UK. “This investment is fully in line with our strategy to broaden our offering through value-creating acquisitions,” said Tom Sjökvist, head of ABB’s Low Voltage Products division, under which Jokab Safety will reside.
“Through this acquisition both ABB and Jokab will strengthen their total offering. Together we can meet customers’ increasing requirements for low-voltage products and machine safety in a better way.” With the acquisition ABB’s North America operations will add around 50 new employees, bringing extensive machine safety expertise into the company. “We are pleased to have acquired one of the market’s strongest product portfolio within machine safety for manufacturing industries. It means that we can now also provide safety products on top of our already broad product range within low voltage,” said Kirk Goins, Region Division Manager, Low Voltage Products in North America.
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 120,000 people.