WAUKEGAN, IL—The Drives and Motion division of Yaskawa America Inc. (YAI) has acquired the business and operations of Wermac Electric Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Wermac is a 25-year partner with Yaskawa and has been an innovator and leader in applying variable speed drives and electrical controls in the oil and gas industry. Wermac has grown in size and reputation over the years by providing unique software and packaging solutions centered on Yaskawa Drives as well as knowledgeable and quick on-site service exceeding the demands of the oil and gas industry.

The acquisition of Wermac continues Yaskawa’s growth in key vertical markets. The oil and gas market in particular presents extreme requirements for quality, packaging, and special software, in which both Yaskawa and Wermac have excelled.

 “After 25 years of very successful partnership with Wermac, the time was right to take that partnership to its logical conclusion and become one company,” says Mike Knapek, president and COO of Yaskawa America, Motion and Drives division stated,  This will allow for better service for our joint customers with greater resources located locally.”

The new division will be known as Yaskawa Wermac and will be located at the former Wermac Electric facility in Calgary, Alberta. Yaskawa Wermac is now a division of Yaskawa Motoman Canada, which is a subsidiary of Yaskawa America, Inc. All key personnel have been retained to continue providing the key service and products that Wermac is noted for.

“We are excited to be joining a global company with an elite reputation for technology and innovation,” says Jim MacKinnon, president of Wermac. “The existing management team, sales team, and production team will make a noticeable contribution to Yaskawa’ s growth and our line of industry solutions, while expanding Yaskawa’ s current offerings in the energy industry.” MacKinnon will take on the role of director of oilfield operations for Yaskawa Wermac.

Mark Bernicky, vice president of Drives, will be responsible for integrating Yaskawa Wermac into the Yaskawa family of companies. That includes defining the role of Yaskawa Wermac in helping and assisting our existing oilfield customers to be more successful as well as partnering with new oilfield operators and OEMs to make them more successful and profitable.