Omron Adds Industrial Automation Control Company

Omron Electronics Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., has expanded its line of industrial automation control equipment with its recent purchase of IDM Controls Inc., a Houston-based supplier of customer-engineered control and motion control systems. The acquisition, a cash purchase of IDM assets, complements Omron's existing product lines, which include programmable controls, sensors, vision systems, operator interfaces, and a full line of motion control products. Omron Electronics, a subsidiary of the $4.6 billion electronics company Omron Corp., Tokyo, reports that the acquisition is part of its long-term plan to increase its presence in both the North and South American markets. Omron officials say that IDM will continue to operate independently and focus on the petrochemical, plastic, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning markets. Its name, however, was recently changed to IDM Controls Inc. Omron Corp. is ranked No. 391 on the IW 1000, IndustryWeek's annual ranking of the world's 1,000 largest manufacturing companies based on revenues.