Helmond-based high-tech company AAE has acquired Setsu Precision Technology in Malaysia, its second international acquisition after it bought Solara Automation in North Carolina in 2024.
Credit: this report is based on a story first published by MenA.nl. Read the original at mena.nl.
According to MenA.nl, AAE, the high-tech company based in Helmond, is buying Setsu Precision Technology to strengthen its position in Southeast Asia and produce closer to its international customers. The Malaysian business will in time continue under the name AAE Southeast Asia (AAE SEA).
What AAE is buying
Setsu makes complex components in small series for international customers, including in the semiconductor industry, industrial automation and machine building. The existing expertise, production capacity and knowledge of the local market were an important basis for the deal and for AAE's further expansion in Asia, MenA.nl reported.
A second step outside Europe
The Malaysian deal builds on AAE's earlier expansion beyond Europe. In 2024 the Helmond company took over Solara Automation in North Carolina, its first major step into the North American market. At that time AAE had already named Asia as the next phase.
The acquisition fits AAE's "local for local" strategy, under which it wants to set up production and automation activities on the continents where its customers, markets and supply chains are. The company also expects the international spread to shorten transport distances and reduce the ecological footprint of its operations.
What comes next
CEO Manon Pijnenburg called the acquisition an important step in the company's international development (translated from Dutch). The plan is to build out AAE Southeast Asia step by step over the coming years, giving AAE operations in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.
Original source: MenA.nl, "Hightechbedrijf AAE uit Helmond neemt fabrikant in Maleisië over"
