Mitsubishi Electric Makes Equity Investment in Iconics

In a bid to strengthen its factory and process automation solutions and go after US$130 million in sales to infrastructure projects in emerging markets, Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that Mitsubishi Electric Automation, Inc., its subsidiary selling industrial automation equipment in the U.S., has made a 19.9% equity investment in Foxborough, Mass. based software company Iconics.

In a press release, company spokesperson Yurika Fujimoto said the investment will  “enable Mitsubishi Electric to incorporate Iconics’ supervisory control and data-acquisition (SCADA) software in factory and process automation solutions primarily for new social infrastructure opportunities in emerging markets.” The company expects sales of factory automation solutions for infrastructure projects in emerging markets to reach 10 billion JPY, or about US$130  million, in the fiscal year ending in March 2014.

In June, the two companies had announced an agreement whereby Iconics would integrate its SCADA and Manufacturing Intelligence software with Mitsubishi IA controllers. At that point, a new product release was anticipated for this month. That agreement was meant to help Mitsubishi have a stronger presence in the process automation market especially the water/wastewater industry.

Fujimoto said Mitsubishi Electric will work with Iconics to develop and market energy management and control solutions for factory and process automation applications in key emerging markets, such as China, Southeast Asia, India and Brazil, which are rapidly developing infrastructure for ground and air transportation, water and wastewater treatment, building facilities and more.
    
Renee Robbins Bassett, [email protected], is managing editor of Automation World magazine.

See also:
ARC 2011: Mitsubishi Announces Process Automation Solution