Rockwell Automation (ROK)

[Investorman]

Rockwell Automation to expand its global footprint
Firm looks to acquisitions to enter new markets and fill in expertise gaps
By Christopher Hinton, MarketWatch

Last Update: 12:11 PM ET Sep 11, 2007

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Acquisitions will continue to play a special role at Rockwell Automation Inc., filling expertise gaps and expanding the maker of industrial automation and control systems' global footprint, Chief Executive Keith Nosbusch said Tuesday.

Less than half of the Milwaukee-based company's sales come from overseas, but that should increase over the next several years as Rockwell Automation moves further away from its earlier dependence on the U.S. automotive industry, Nosbusch said at a Morgan Stanley conference.
In the past year, the company saw robust growth despite a U.S. economic slowdown and Detroit's slumping automotive industry, he said.

The company has been boosted by strategic acquisitions such as its purchase of U.K.'s Industrial Control Services Group Ltd. in July, which provides process control safety solutions to various manufacturers.

"We're moving into a much broader set of industries," Nosbusch said. "Acquisitions play an important role; they fill in the technology gaps, expand our market and add to domain expertise, and we view acquisitions as a bolt-on type of capability."

Asked about the possibility of a joint venture with a software company such as Oracle or SAP, Nosbusch nixed the idea, saying that merging the unique technology required for a factory floor isn't possible with the off-the-shelf tools often offered by the large software companies.
"There is a fundamental difference in how their applications are run that translates into no significant contribution from a [joint venture]," he said. Factory equipment is "unique from plant to plant, line by line."

Rockwell Automation said it provides solutions to benefit manufacturers in four ways: getting products to markets faster, reducing costs, optimizing assets and minimizing manufacturing risk through system security and safety.