New Joint Venture Will Advance Solutions and Services to Customers Across North America
June 25, 2024
ABB and the Niedax Group collaborate on joint venture to meet demand for cable trays
By Krystie Johnston
ABB and the Niedax Group recently announced their intent to form a 50/50 joint venture that combines their respective strengths into one organization to help that will meet the increased demand for cable trays and related electrical installation products. Mike Shenouda, Canada Region Leader, ABB’s Installation Products Division, discusses the strengths of these two companies and how their combined offering will benefit customers.
The plan is for the joint venture to be an independent entity that delivers advanced cable tray solutions and services to electrical contractors, distributors and systems integrators across the United States, Canada and Mexico. “The timing to combine these companies is perfect.” Shenouda says. “The market for cable tray and installation products has been steadily growing. And demand is expected to increase to keep pace with the energy transition and the distribution of electrical power, as well as industrial mega trends such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and more. Both companies realize that, to keep up with this demand, they can go fast individually, but together, they can go farther.”
Advancing services and solutions together, going farther as a joint venture
“Both companies are performing very well individually, and our values and objectives are aligned.” The intent in combining the cable tray product lines from both organizations is to be a premier provider of cable tray systems across North America. “We are always evaluating ways to better position our offerings for future success, and this opportunity will optimize our capabilities and provide a complete cable tray product offering for the North America market”.
ABB and the Niedax Group have a solid distribution network and a strong offering of products and services. Both companies are driven by values such as sustainability and efficiency. “Sustainability is at the core of our values here at ABB, and I strongly believe it is the same for the Niedax Group, our partner. We have always embedded sustainability in our decisions, so for us, it is second nature. Whether we are building factories, automating them, or improving them, it is part of our DNA,” Shenouda says.
Shenouda has been with ABB for nearly 30 years and has seen first-hand how the company reduces energy consumption and supports sustainability in their own facilities around the world, and how they have supported their partners to do the same for over 140 years by providing innovative solutions. The Niedax Group has been family-owned since its founding in 1920 and has grown to be a leading supplier of cable management systems worldwide.
Joint venture will accelerate collaboration and innovation
In addition to improving proximity to their customers and sharing values that support an efficient and sustainable world, the combined expertise, services and product offering of both companies will expand. Shenouda says: “this joint venture is about accelerating collaboration and innovation to expand our offering and capabilities.”
“We plan to continue to market our respective products under the same brands.” The initial announcement outlines details of the offering both companies bring to the joint venture: ABB Installation Products, T&B® Cable Tray and ExpressTray® Steel Wire Basket Tray product lines, as well as Niedax Group’s MonoSystems®, Canadian Electrical Raceways and other Niedax® product lines.
The combined portfolio of cable management solutions will be comprehensive, spanning a wide range of configurations, finishes and types of cable and ladder trays, wire baskets, channel and perforated tray, floor systems and boxes, accessories and fittings. Customers will have the ability to customize solutions to meet their needs. To highlight this, Shenouda points out the expansion joints that ABB developed for the Champlain Bridge in Montréal as one example of how effective the company can be to support their customers. Another example is for the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) , which demonstrates how cable trays are a customizable product by nature. The combined strengths of the joint venture will be able to support virtually any application.
One thing that is important is that we really believe in being local, and we will continue to develop products that are required locally, for local applications,” says Shenouda. Through this partnership, customers across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico will be able to benefit from the combined expertise of ABB and the Niedax Group in terms of improved proximity and offering. There are a few or portions of a few ABB Canada facilities, including the Iberville, Quebec and Edmonton, Alberta sites that are expected to transition into the JV.
Joint venture benefits from the combined expertise of ABB and the Niedax Group
Both companies are working to ensure a smooth transition for the 200 plus employees across the U.S. and Canada who will be part of the new organization. “Employees are at the heart of our operation. That is why ABB fosters a high-performance, purpose-driven culture focused on the well-being of our employees.” Shenouda says. The way we see this market evolving with our ambitions, there is tremendous potential for our people to keep growing, evolving, and moving up in the organization. Our beliefs are the same on both sides; we believe in empowering our people and giving them opportunities to grow.”
As exciting as it is to look forward to the future, these are still the early days of this joint venture announcement. Shenouda says there is no expansion planned for tomorrow, or even in the next months. Right now, both companies are focused on getting the deal closed and getting the joint venture started. “What I can say is that, for the time being, each company is working individually, and we are currently running our businesses completely individually, as we should until after the closing.”
More Information
Related Story
ABB Breaks Ground on A Canadian Installation Products Division Facility
As a next step to the previously announced $16 million investment, ABB in Canada breaks ground for the expansion of its Installation Products plant in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. The facility will expand by 30,000 square feet to 65,000 square feet and once completed in 2024 will create 40+ new jobs.
