May 23, 2013 – Toshiba International Corp. is acquiring all assets and intellectual property of Hamilton, Ont.-based Elettra Technology Inc. (ETI), a manufacturer of custom electrical industrial motors.

“We at Toshiba International look forward to the addition of the ETI business to the Toshiba Group of companies,” said Mike Ayers, senior VP and GM of Toshiba’s Industrial Division. “This will expand our motor manufacturing and design capability in North America to better serve both ETI’s and Toshiba’s customers.”

With assets including those from former Westinghouse Motor Company Canada Ltd., the acquisition is a strategic move for Toshiba, says the company, to add its strength in the electric motor marketplace and support the growth of its industrial and infrastructure business.

The new company will be named Toshiba Industrial Products Canada (TIPCA, pending approval), and will continue to operate with the same employees that are currently staffed. TIPCA will relocate manufacturing to a recently renovated facility in Hamilton with added space and crane capacity, and with the ability to further expand the business in the Hamilton area.

TIPCA’s assets will provide Toshiba with the ability to manufacture larger motors and motors that fill complex and special application requirements, says the company, which “will further enhance TIC’s business portfolio of large electric motors in the Canadian and global marketplace”. The integration of the two companies will take place over the next few months.

ETI began in 1996 as a partnership of Carlo Di Pietro and Joe Aiello, two Hamilton-based, former Westinghouse Motor Company Canada Ltd. executives. Di Pietro, president of Elettra, said the merger is a win-win: “ETI has a history of excellence in one-off specialty electrical motor production, which will enhance Toshiba’s product line, while Toshiba has the efficiencies of a large operation that will improve opportunities here.”