Emerson buys local distie

Emerson Network Power Australia, a business division of Emerson has completed the acquisition of Ricon, the local distributor of computer rack maker Knurr.

The acquisition will complement Emerson's distribution portfolio of power protection, precision cooling and premium racking solutions, making it a one-stop source for power, cooling and equipment solutions for next-generation data centres.

Emerson Network Power announced the global acquisition of German rack-maker Knurr in 2006, but until now Australian company Ricon - which has been fabricating the German-made Knurr products in its Botany factory for the past 10 years - has locally distributed the product.

David Scott, managing director, Emerson Network Power Australia said the rack is an important component in the effective management of data centres and other critical facilities as intelligence and support migrate from room-level systems to rack mounts.

"We've enhanced Knurr's unique rack system with a family of standard Liebert components that add cooling, power distribution, cabling management and monitoring capabilities. This will provide data centre and facilities managers with more flexibility, reliability and efficiency in solving common rack-related IT problems, such as cable management, effective temperature control and rack-level power distribution," he said.

The Ricon acquisition will see a host of new customers joining the Emerson fold, and will unify the management of a number of customers that already use both Knurr and Liebert products in their businesses. One such customer is local building services consultancy Medland Mitropoulos, said Scott.

For more information read CRN out on stands on the 28 May 2007.