Responsiveness , control and long term customer ownership is at the heart of making a successful business in any industry, more so in Industrial automation where reach is not working through partners but wherher you are owning the last mile.
This seems to be the operating thinking reflecting in Yashkawa electric moving in for Variadores business.
Yaskawa a subsidiary of Yaskawa America inc recently acquired a 100 % stake in Variadores from Colombia – a company it has worked with for 3 decades.
Context:
Founded in 1987, it has built its leadership in Variable frequency drives- VFDs, system integration and after sales services – particularly in industrial oil and gas segments.
Yaskawa is a global leader in drives, motion control and robotics and has been focusing on expanding its footprint across emerging industrial markets.
Why the acquisition:
Variadores has had deep technical expertise , deeply entrenched customer relationships and nationwide presence in Colombia.
The move potentially gives the company direct customer access, greater pricing control and better margins and allows a strong brand presence overall.
Why this matters :
In industrial automation where the projects are long drawn and often service decides the customer success- owning the customer interface can become a big differentiator.
Colombia as a Gateway
Colombia has been witnessing a growth in industrial activity and strong connectivity with neighbouring economies as it offers base for regional expansion.
It allows Yashkawa to scale operations in LATAM and compete more effectively with other global automation majors already investing in the region.
Service as a Competitive Moat
Automation is increasingly becoming a service driven and no longer only about the products specially in the long run- the company that can bring in a life cycle support along with
– Local engineering expertise
– Application-specific customization
– Strong after-sales service infrastructure
By integrating this capability . Yaskawa strengthens its ability to deliver end to end solutions and not piecemeal components
What It Means for Variadores
It means now becoming a part of a global automation ecosystem and not only a regional distributor.
It gets access to advanced technologies , larger and more complex projects and a big uptick in its credibility as a multinational player possibly expanding beyond Colombia.
