Global IT firm to acquire Cambridge-based robotics manufacturer

Global professional services company Accenture has agreed to acquire Cambridge-based Eclipse Automation, which provides customized manufacturing automation and robotics solutions.

A press release says the acquisition will allow Accenture to “offer automated production lines that leverage the cloud, data and artificial intelligence (AI), making factories and plants smarter and thus, more productive, sustainable and safe.”

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Eclipse Automation creates automated manufacturing systems to produce sophisticated products for life sciences, industrial equipment, automotive, energy and consumer goods companies.

Its technologists and engineers design and build robotics and automation control systems that produce products and devices that range from electric vehicle batteries to wearable blood-glucose monitors.

Founded in 2001, Eclipse Automation has offices in Canada, the US, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland and Malaysia.

Its workforce of approximately 800 professionals will join Accenture’s digital engineering and manufacturing service, Industry X.

“Technology, data and AI are fundamentally transforming every part of a company. This includes engineering and manufacturing, our clients’ next digital frontier,” said Aaron Saint, North America lead for Industry X at Accenture in the release. 

“With Eclipse Automation, we will combine advanced automation capabilities with our deep digital expertise. This will position Accenture better than ever to help our clients reimagine their products and how they make them.”

Jeffrey Russell, president of Accenture in Canada, said bringing production back home to Canada and the US after global supply chain disruptions is a priority and the acquisition of Eclipse “gives them a unique opportunity to reinvent manufacturing with digital technologies and advanced automation.”

“With Eclipse Automation, Accenture will provide technology and training capabilities that our clients need to develop a digital industrial workforce in markets where manufacturing skills are scarce,” he said.

“For two decades, we have been leaders in delivering advanced automation solutions and high-tech manufacturing know-how to clients across multiple industries,” added Steve Mai, CEO of Eclipse Automation. “By joining Accenture, we can also bring the advantages of data, AI and the cloud to our clients’ facilities at a scale that no other company can offer them.”

The acquisition marks the next milestone in Accenture’s expansion of its digital engineering and manufacturing capabilities. In 2020, Accenture bought Myrtle Consulting (US, Canada), a consultancy for strategic advisory on industrial operations, and Callisto Integration (Canada), a provider of manufacturing execution and shop-floor control systems.

In 2021, Accenture added Pollux (Brazil), which engineers and deploys materials handling and autonomous mobile robots, paving its way into autonomous robotics systems. Later that year, Accenture made one of its largest acquisitions ever with international engineering services provider umlaut, headquartered in Germany, and strengthened its asset management and performance capabilities with Advoco (US) and T.A. Cook (Germany).

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.