Manufacturing partnerships provide opportunities to expand into new regions or collaborate on complex products. In this edition of It’s Just Business, Siemens makes two moves, one for the German company’s European market and one farther afield in upstate New York. Plus, NP Aerospace acquired fellow vehicle armor firm Iten Defense. 

Partnership: Siemens and Sparepartsnow have partnered to make refurbished Siemens automation products available through Sparepartsnow’s digital marketplace, including drives, controllers and HMI panels. The products are refurbished and tested by Siemens to meet original technical specifications and performance characteristics. The initial offering will be available in Europe, with plans to expand the product range and regional availability. 

“This partnership with Siemens transforms circularity into a scalable solution, bringing value to our industrial customers,” said Dr. Christian Hoffart, CEO of Sparepartsnow, in a September press release. 

Partnership: In other Siemens news, the engineering giant and Battery-NY are collaborating. They will spin up an automation and digital manufacturing architecture for a flexible battery development and pilot manufacturing facility in upstate New York. The initiative will use standardized automation, equipment-interface and data principles across multiple processes to support production visibility, traceability and future simulation and AI capabilities. 

“Our work with Battery-NY shows how integration complexity can be turned into manufacturing clarity, with a practical path toward traceability, analytics and future-ready production,” said Vivek Furtado, head of battery vertical US at Siemens Digital Industries, in a September press release. 

Acquisition: Tavoron has acquired Power Motion, an industrial automation solutions provider and systems integrator serving manufacturers and industrial operations. The acquisition expands Tavoron’s offerings in automation, robotics, machine vision and motion control while strengthening its geographic reach across the Midwest and South-Central United States. 

“Power Motion brings a strong reputation for technical knowledge, customer service, and trusted product and engineering expertise; qualities that align directly with Tavoron's mission to elevate industrial operations across North America,” said Nicholas Martino, CEO of Tavoron, in a September press release.

Acquisition: NP Aerospace has completed its acquisition of Iten Defense, establishing a U.S. manufacturing presence and expanding its advanced armor production capabilities. Iten Defense’s Ashtabula, Ohio, operation produces opaque and transparent composite armor for land, maritime and aerospace applications. The facility is planned for further expansion with up to 100 new jobs over the next several years.

“Joining NP Aerospace marks an exciting new chapter for Iten Defense,” said Damon Walsh, CEO of Iten Defense, in a September press release. “Our shared commitment to advanced protection makes this a natural fit, creating new opportunities to strengthen our capabilities, support our customers and accelerate growth from our Ashtabula facility.” 

Acquisition: Norm Fasteners has acquired an automotive fastener manufacturing operation in Plymouth, Mich., adding local production to the Turkish company’s North American sales, engineering, logistics and warehousing operations. The 121,000-square-foot facility produces high-strength automotive bolts through cold forming, heat treatment, thread-rolling, sorting and packaging. Norm Fasteners aims to increase annual production capacity to 20,000 tons.
 
“North America is one of our priority growth markets, and Michigan gives us access to an advanced automotive supplier ecosystem, a skilled workforce and strong logistics infrastructure,” said Nedim Uysal, vice chairperson of Norm Holding, in an August press release.