Yokogawa adds strength with Fluence Analytics acquisition

TOKYO—Japan's Yokogawa Electric Corp. has purchased polymer manufacturing solutions provider Fluence Analytics, the companies announced in February.

Terms of the acquisition between Fluence Analytics and the Tokyo-based electrical engineering and software company were not released.

Established in 2013, Houston-based Fluence Analytics provides patented, real-time process analytics and control solutions to polymer and biopharmaceutical companies worldwide. One of its main offerings is an Automatic Continuous Online Monitoring of Polymerization Reactions (ACOMP), which continuously monitors and measures these polymerization reactions.

Fluence Analytics now operates as Yokogawa Fluence Analytics, but will maintain that Fluence brand, according to CEO Jay Manouchehri.

"As of now, we operate as a standalone and will be fairly autonomous," he said.

Fluence Analytics entered a business collaboration with Yokogawa in 2021 that helped the then eight-year-old company improve its access to technology and data analytics, and take advantage of Yokogawa's sales and distribution reach.

At the time, Yokogawa Electric and Fluence Analytics said that under the collaboration agreement they jointly would expand and accelerate the deployment of ACOMP systems. For more than a year, Yokogawa served as Fluence Analytics' exclusive distributor of ACOMP systems in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and supported engineering, sales and system integration with customers.

Since beginning their collaboration in August 2021, Fluence Analytics and Yokogawa have been exploring the expansion of existing business opportunities. Following the acquisition, Fluence Analytics will integrate its operations with Yokogawa's existing business and further enhance its technological capabilities.

In addition to ACOMP, the Fluence Analytics product portfolio includes an innovative lab instrument designed to dramatically accelerate and optimize the development of novel biotherapeutics, the firms said in a news release. The instrument enables the rapid assessment and real-time monitoring of the stability of therapeutic proteins, peptides, and other biopolymers under various thermal, mechanical, and chemical stress conditions.

Fluence participated in a $7.5 million financing with other investors in 2021, including Energy Innovation Capital, Diamond Edge Ventures—a division of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp.—and JSR Corp. Additional capital financing was provided through strategic and individuals investors as early as 2017.

A profitable exit from the business was always a part of the end goal for Fluence, according to Alex Reed, Fluence Analytics president and chief operating officer. However, that eventuality was not a part of the arrangement of the initial business collaboration with Yokogawa in 2021. Yokogawa approached Fluence leadership with the idea a few months ago.

"It just evolved into that because (the partnership) worked so well," Reed said. "After awhile it just made sense for us all to wear the same uniform."

Fluence Analytics has roughly 30 employees and all will be working under the Yokogawa umbrella, Manouchehri said. That expertise is part of the appeal, he said, as Fluence Analytics brings strong data analytics, while Yokogawa is known for its hardware analyzer technology. Fluence professionals have engaged with dozens of chemicals and biopharma companies, creating pent-up momentum.

For example, the companies' initial partnership in 2021 generated strong interest from global chemical companies desiring automated digital technologies. The combined Yokogawa Fluence Analytics will explore how to integrate a next-generation ACOMP with Yokogawa's advanced control solutions and digital technologies. Yokogawa's global network will perform engineering and system integration tasks and provide after-sales field services for the ACOMP system.

"Our technology is patented, and part of the appeal is that (Yokogawa) can offer one-stop shop services with autonomous operations and (continuous) control," Manouchehri said.

Reed said the parent company expressed excitement working with a startup partner and the innovation that his colleagues provide. Fluence plans to "stay nimble yet innovative" with its approach, he added.

Both Reed and Manouchehri declined to confirm recent revenue figures or growth trends, saying that Fluence Analytics' collective technology expertise was the main driver of the acquisition, and that both parties were pleased with the deal.

"It really is a win-win for us on several fronts," Manouchehri said. "Not only for our customers who benefit from a broad new range of services but our employees who have new opportunities in their careers."

Yokogawa Fluence Analytics is hiring for several new positions to support growing demand, including field, software and detector engineers, Manouchehri said.

One of the main motivations for Yokogawa's decision was combining Fluence Analytics' ACOMP system and other technology with its own polymers expertise, according to Kenji Hasegawa, Yokogawa vice president and head of Yokogawa Products headquarters.

"Combining Fluence Analytics' ACOMP system and other technology with our industry know-how will enable us to work with our customers to digitalize and automate polymerization processes that are currently monitored and adjusted manually," Hasegawa said in a statement. "This will assist customers to improve worker safety, profitability and environmental performance.

"We also plan to apply this technology to polymer re-use. We believe this is truly a game-changer for the industry."