Digital Factory: Rockwell Automation Acquires Plex Systems

Dedicated to Industrial Automation and Digital Transformation

In an announcement made by Rockwell Automation, the company has successfully completed its acquisition of Plex Systems - a leading cloud-native smart manufacturing platform. 

Digital transformation is certainly a commonplace word in today’s modern organisation, those that fail to develop a digital strategy risk being left behind in the fast-paced and innovative arena. 

By acquiring Plex Systems, the organisation joins Rockwell Automation at a prime time where many organisations - if they haven’t started already - are looking to move their industrial applications to the cloud. 

“Plex’s software capabilities will be further differentiated by Rockwell’s global market access, complimentary industry expertise, and ability to turn real-time data into actionable insights. This will allow us to better serve our customers with cloud-native solutions that are easy to implement, use, and maintain. We are excited to complete this acquisition and welcome Plex and its employees into Rockwell,” said Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation. 

What Will Plex Systems Bring to the Table?

Offering a single-instance, multi-tenant Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) manufacturing platform that can operate at scale, Plex Systems’ cloud solutions include advanced manufacturing execution systems (MES), quality, and supply chain management capabilities. Currently, Plex Systems has more than 700 customers, managing over eight billion transactions a day. 

Joining Rockwell Automation, Plex Systems will be reported as part of the company’s Software and Control operating segment which provides leading hardware and software for design, operations, and maintenance of production automation and management systems. 

“Rockwell’s industrial and digital transformation leadership along with its geographic and industry scale make it the ideal home for the entire Plex Systems community of customers, partners, and employees. We are eager to integrate our Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform with Rockwell’s FactoryTalk suite to deliver on our commitment to optimize our customers’ operations and bring smart manufacturing to life,” said Bill Berutti, CEO of Plex Systems.

Combined Experience

By combining Plex Systems’ value in highly repetitive discrete and process manufacturing sectors, with Rockwell Automation’s cloud-native asset maintenance and management capabilities - following its acquisition of Fiix - the two will provide a combined offering for customers in the life science and consumer packaged goods industry, who are focused on complying with regulatory requirements and meeting consumer expectations (product quality, safety, and sustainability).