On April 2, 2024, HMS Industrial Networks has completed the acquisition of Red Lion Controls from Spigel Group Holdings Limited. The two companies are now one entity and can begin to work together on a common market strategy and product planning.

The acquisition was first announced on December 11, 2023 and has now been approved. This means that HMS Industrial Network currently employs around 1,200 people in 18 countries. Most employees are based in the United States, Sweden and Germany.

Staffan Dahlstrom, President and CEO of HMS, said: “We are delighted to welcome all of Red Lion’s new employees and key customers to the HMS Industrial Network family, which marks an exciting new chapter in our journey. Now, as we embark on the integration process together, we look forward to leveraging our combined strengths, shared values and commitment to deliver exceptional value to our customers.” Over the next few quarters, our focus will be on ensuring seamless integration and actively pursuing synergies between our companies. We look forward to accelerating our leadership position in North America together.”

For HMS and Red Lion customers, there will be no changes at this time. HMS and Red Lion products will continue to be marketed and sold through the original channels of the original brand, with contact window personnel and email addresses remaining unchanged.

Going forward, the combination of HMS and Red Lion will provide many synergies, especially as it will expand HMS’s presence in the US and Red Lion’s presence in Europe. Red Lion’s largest sales come from North America, and through a well-established dealer network, HMS will be able to leverage that network to drive sales of HMS Gateway and remote access products. With approximately 60% of its sales coming from the large automation market in Europe and a well-developed and targeted market channel, HMS is able to cross-sell specific Red Lion products in Europe.

The Red Lion China team will join HMS’s wholly-owned subsidiary in China, HMS Network Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries, which are part of HMS Greater China market unit and will continue to provide services to Red Lion agents and customers as an independent team

The Red Lion business (including contracts, orders, logistics, etc.) will be operated by Hengmax as an entity. With the further integration of the two teams, HMS’s gateway and remote solutions will be enriched, and new product lines such as industrial Ethernet switches and human machine interfaces will be added. It will also have more channel partners in Greater China, as well as a stronger market and service system.