Rockwell Automation complete acquisition of Plex Systems

Plex Systems are specialists in providing smart manufacturing solutions to help manufacturers to streamline and modernise their global operations by leveraging shop-floor data to improve production performance. At the time of writing, the company offers the only single-instance, multi-tenant SaaS manufacturing platform that is capable of operating to scale. Announcing the details of the deal to sell Plex Systems to Rockwell Automation, Petri Oksanen, Partner at Francisco Partners said “Plex has always been at the forefront of the smart manufacturing revolution having launched its first cloud-native products more than two decades ago. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to support the Plex team in accelerating their execution against this transformative vision and greatly scaling the business along the way, with Plex’s subscription revenues more than quintupling during our ownership”.

What does the future hold for Rockwell Automation?

With more and more manufacturing companies facing the growing need to increase production and improve resilience while driving efficiency and compliance, manufacturers are seeking to upgrade their systems with modern cloud-based manufacturing execution systems (MES). Plex Systems claim that their platform will help manufacturers to connect, automate, track, and analyse their operations and connected supply chains. “Rockwell believes in the power of data and technology to transform manufacturing and industrial operations. Together with the advanced asset maintenance and management capabilities provided by our recent Fiix acquisition, Rockwell will have a strong portfolio of cloud-native solutions for our customers’ production systems upon completion of the Plex acquisition,” declared the  Senior Vice President, Software and Control with Rockwell Automation, Brian Shepherd. Bill Berutti, the CEO of Plex Systems also underlined his satisfaction with the Rockwell deal, saying “Plex has always been more than a company. We have been a leader in the movement to smart manufacturing and a trusted partner to more than 700 manufacturing companies around the globe. Joining forces with Rockwell is great for our customers, our partners, and our employees as we move to expand our reach and impact and accelerate our mission to bring manufacturing to the cloud.” Although the deal has been included in the reporting as part of Rockwell Automation’s Software and Control operating segment, the acquisition is expected to close in the company’s fourth quarter, with over 500 new employees due to become part of the Rockwell team subsequent to the completion of the deal.