In case you missed it, Swiss-based ABB will acquire Baldor Electric Company  beginning December 2010 in an all-cash deal.  The $4.2 billion deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011.

Why?  For ABB, this transaction fills in a gap in ABB’s automation offerings by folding in Baldor’s successful NEMA motor line and will better position the company as a major player in the industrial motor market, including high-efficiency motors.  It will also bump up ABB’s mechanical power transmission business and will significantly broaden ABB’s access to North American industrial customers.

There are a million and one iPhone apps out there but this one by Baldor Electric Company, www.baldor.com  is way cool.  Those smart cookies at Baldor have converted their BE$T desktop program for calculating and comparing motor efficiencies to an Apple iphone app.

By calculating a motor’s annual electricity usage based on its nominal efficiency and comparing it to the annual electricity usage of Baldor’s Standard-E and Super-E premium efficiency motors, it can then recommend, by catalog number, the appropriate Baldor motor for the application as well as information on the payback period for replacing the existing motor.