Wabco Agrees to Buy RH Sheppard Co. for Active Steering Capability
As it expands its focus on the emerging market for self-driving commercial vehicles, Wabco Holdings Inc. signed an agreement to acquire RH Sheppard Co. Inc., a supplier of vehicle steering capabilities.
The $145 million transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter, according to Wabco.
Privately held Sheppard, based in Hanover, Pa., had sales of $130 million in 2016.
Esculier
The acquisition of Sheppard, with its focus on lateral control through active steering, complements Wabco’s technologies in longitudinal control through active braking, stability and suspension controls, the Brussels-based company said.
“This acquisition represents another key milestone as Wabco advances toward enabling self-driving commercial vehicles,” Chairman and CEO Jacques Esculier said in a statement. “We have a clear line of sight on the fundamental technologies, such as active steering, active braking, electronic stability control and other advanced driver-assistance systems, which will enable significant intermediary steps on our industry’s path to realize fully autonomous driving.”
Sheppard offers a suite of power-steering gears, employs 900 people and provides precision engineered engine pumps and state-of-the-art remanufacturing services. The company also is vertically integrated with its own manufacturing and advanced foundry capabilities, according to Wabco, which said it will use the integration for some products.
Sheppard also has an exclusivity agreement with a leading supplier of steering actuation controls that will allow it to offer “a compact, cost-effective, breakthrough technological solution that enables active steering control for commercial vehicle manufacturers in North America,” the Wabco statement said. The other supplier was not identified.
