Linamar Announces Global Exclusive Manufacturing Agreement with Innovative Mechatronic Systems
August 11, 2021 at 07:30 am EDT
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Linamar Corporation announced that it has entered into an exclusive Global Manufacturing Agreement with Innovative Mechatronic Systems B.V. (IMSystems) to bring the Archimedes Drive transmission system to market, a promising technology that offers a major innovation in the Industrial Robotics & Automation sector. As part of the agreement, Linamar commits to be the manufacturing source for the system once the design is proven and production requires scale up. Concurrently with this agreement, Linamar also announced a minority equity investment in IMSystems, as part of a Series A consortium which raised €3 million. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. This announcement is another demonstration of Linamar's innovation outreach strategy, bringing significant value to an innovative early-stage company for mutual growth. The deal leverages Linamar's manufacturing expertise, infrastructure, design for manufacturing capabilities, and supply chain management expertise to allow for rapid commercialization of the Archimedes Drive transmission. Further, the transaction allows Linamar to participate as both a shareholder and manufacturer in the rapidly growing startup. The Archimedes Drive system is comprised of an assembly module that uses frictional contact instead of gear teeth to transmit torque, resulting in a more efficient and precise gearbox. With a product that is more accurate, robust, efficient, and scalable than competing technologies, the IMSystems team aims to create a revolution for the robotics industry.
Linamar Corporation is a Canada-based advanced manufacturing company. The Company is engaged in providing manufacturing solutions and developing engineered products. Its segments include Industrial and Mobility. The Industrial segment consists of MacDon, Salford, Bourgault, and Skyjack. MacDon manufactures combined draper headers and self-propelled windrowers for the agricultural harvesting industry. Skyjack manufactures scissor, boom, and telehandler lifts for the aerial work platform industry. The Mobility segment is focused on propulsion systems, structural and chassis systems, energy storage and power generation for both the global electrified and traditionally powered vehicle markets and is subdivided into three regional groups and one global product group: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the newly formed Structures Group. The regional mobility groups are vertically integrated operations combining expertise in light metal casting, forging, machining, and assembly.