Rittal is merging with Kiesling Maschinentechnik, bringing the machinery and electrical panel assembly automation company which also sits under its parent company, the Friedhelm Loh group, under its wing.

Friedhelm Loh owner and CEO Friedhelm Loh said the merger will allow Friedhelm to expand its expertise in switching and control system engineering.

"Now that we are linking the company to Rittal and Eplan, we are opening up splendid international growth prospects for it, while adding handling technology to our comprehensive range of services in the area of switching and control system engineering,” Loh said.

"Eplan's software platform and Rittal's end-to-end enclosure portfolio will be instrumental in serving our customers along the entire value chain in the area of enclosure engineering."

The two parties have agreed not to release the financial details of the transaction.

Kiesling, a family-owned company headquartered in Dietzenbach in the German state of Hesse, is a specialist in automation solutions in the area of switching system engineering.

Among the core products of the company, which was founded in 1970, are machining centers for the enclosure assembly, cutting centers, automatic assembly systems for terminal strips, assembly tables, and enclosure test units.

Kiesling srtarted out as an engineering firm developing customer-specific solutions in the area of drive technology.

The new management board of Kiesling Maschinentechnik will be formed by Rolf von Kiesling and Dr Thomas Steffen, president of R&D at Rittal.