Vacon takes AC drives to heart

The history of the Vacon Group dates back to 1993 when a group of thirteen key employees at the Vaasa Factories of ABB Industry Oy decided to found a company of their own, Vaasa Control Oy. They specialized in variable speed AC drives - devices that steplessly adjust the rotation speed of the most common electric motor, the squirrel cage motor.

Typically, variable speed AC drives are used to control pumps and fans, where speed control brings process control but also significant energy savings. Other common drive applications include cranes, elevators, conveyors, winders, compressors and winches.

Vacon’s first variable speed AC drives generation, the Vacon CX, was launched in 1995, and it became a hit product. The launch of Vacon’s second generation of drives, the Vacon NX, was started in October 2000. The first member of Vacon's new micro drive product range, the Vacon 10 for OEM customers, was launched in June 2007.

Local presence, globally

Vacon has its headquarters and production in Vaasa, on the west coast of Finland. The company operated at Runsorintie 5 before the new facilities were completed at Runsorintie 7 in 1998. The facilities were further extended in 2001 and in 2006. The Vacon Group has offices in Finland also in Vantaa and Tampere.

The first Vacon subsidiaries were established in Germany and Sweden already in 1995. Thereafter, subsidiaries have been founded in Italy, Spain, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Austria, Russia, France, Norway and Belgium.

In 2000, Vacon founded a joint venture with its American brand label customer Cutler-Hammer to increase the sales of Vacon variable speed AC drives in the North and Central America. Vacon’s operations in Beijing, China, since the year 2000 encouraged the company to found a factory in Suzhou near Shanghai in 2004. Along with the growing market potential, the premises soon became inadequate, and the inauguration ceremony of the larger premises was celebrated in January 2006.

Since 2005, Vacon has invested strongly in expanding its foothold in new areas. Vacon’s regional office in Dubai, UAE, started operations in 2005. Operations of the representative office established in Singapore in 1999 were moved to Bangkok (Thailand) in 2006 when the Vacon South East Asia branch office was opened. Subsidiaries in India and Australia and a new representative office in Brazil started operations in 2006.

At the beginning of January 2008, Vacon announced to have completed the acquisition of TB Wood’s AC drives business, initially announced in December 2007. After the acquisition, Vacon has sales on all continents, and R&D and production on three continents.

Growth from multi-channel and multi-brand marketing

From the outset, Vacon has given a high priority in creating the widest possible distribution network. Vacon supplies variable speed AC drives under its own label and those of its customers in about 100 countries in all main market areas. More than 90% of the turnover comes from export.

The multi-channel sales network includes the company’s own sales companies, distributors, system suppliers, and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and brand label customers. The first OEM contract was signed with KCI Konecranes International Plc (Finland) in 1996 for applying AC drives technology for crane use. The first brand label contract was signed in 1997 with Honeywell Inc. for marketing variable speed AC drives under the Honeywell brand.

Awards

Since 2004, Vacon has invested heavily in segmenting the markets and designing customized products and services. At the moment, targeted solutions are offered for the building automation, the marine and offshore, the pulp and paper industry as well as for the water and waste water segments.

Frost & Sullivan, a global leader in international strategic market consulting, has awarded Vacon on several occasions. In 2002, in recognition of the company’s continuous growth, in 2004 for Vacon’s unparalleled excellence in the global electric drives market, and in August 2006, for Vacon’s strong attitude and ability to bring added value to its customers, and in November 2006 for competitive strategic leadership. In November 2007, Frost & Sullivan named Vacon 10, Vacon’s new micro drive, the 2008 Product of the Year for OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in the micro drives domain.

Profitable growth

In September 2000, the company changed its official name from Vaasa Control into Vacon and listed in the Helsinki Exchanges in December 2000.

Since 1996, Vacon’s operations have been profitable with a strong annual growth. In 2007, the Vacon Group recorded a turnover of EUR 232.2 million.

Vacon people driven by drives

During the eventful fourteen years, the group of thirteen people has grown into Vacon Group employing more than 860 people. Some things have, however, remained unchanged: 100% focus on variable speed AC drives and a passion for excellence. The company slogan – Driven by Drives - says it all.