Regal Rexnord History
A Legacy of Engineering Excellence
Since our founding in 1955 as Beloit Tool, Regal Rexnord has grown into a global leader in motion technology. Today we help our customers move the world forward by delivering engineered components and solutions that that power, transmit, and control motion across industries including automation, food and beverage, aerospace, medical, data centers, energy, and industrial manufacturing.
Our focus is simple; we help our customers operate more efficiently, improve their performance, and build more sustainable systems.
Today, we have reached nearly $6 billion in sales, operating through 3 distinct segments: Industrial Powertrain Solutions, Power Efficiency Solutions, and Automation & Motion Control.
Three Eras That Shaped Us
While our product portfolio has evolved significantly throughout our company's history, our commitment to manufacturing excellence, product quality, energy efficiency, and competitive differentiated technologies has remained consistent. Our top priority remains the continued success of our customers and the well-being of our 30,000+ associates worldwide.
The history of Regal Rexnord can be understood across three periods, as our portfolio evolved from focusing on powering motion, to transmitting motion, and more recently, precision motion control. Each step bringing us closer to delivering more integrated solutions and greater value to our customers.
1955-2015: Powering Motion
Our journey to becoming a $6 billion global motion-related solutions provider began in Beloit, WI, in 1955 as Beloit Tool – a manufacturer of cutting tools.
But most of the first 60 years of our history focused on producing electric motors, under the Regal Beloit name.
During this time, businesses in our portfolio revolutionized the industry by bringing to market the first variable speed electric motor, enabling dramatic improvements in performance and energy efficiency, and cementing our reputation as the motor technology leader in the markets we served.
2015-2023: Powering Motion + Transmit Motion
Building on our strong foundation in electric motors, a core source of power behind motion in many consumer and industrial applications, we saw an opportunity to expand our capabilities into the adjacent power transmission space.
In 2015, Regal acquired Emerson’s Power Transmission Solutions (PTS) business. With approximately $600 million in sales, PTS added highly engineered power transmission components to our portfolio.
Power transmission products primarily include bearings, couplings, gearing, and drives, which are used to connect a power source, such as our electric motors, to applications the motor is powering. In other words, our motors power motion, and our power transmission components transmit that motion to a variety of applications.
A defining moment in this era came in 2021, when Regal Beloit merged with Rexnord’s approximately $1.2 billion Process & Motion Control (PMC) Segment. This was more than an expansion of scale; it fundamentally transformed our capabilities.
The addition of PMC significantly broadened our power transmission offering, strengthened our position in clutches and breaks, and enhanced our digital IoT capabilities with remote condition monitoring and advanced diagnostics. It also introduced a portfolio of renowned legacy brands including Falk, Rexnord, CENTA, and Cambridge.
Following the merger, nearly half of our revenue came from power transmission components and solutions, reflecting a meaningful shift in our business. This transformation led to the adoption of a new name, Regal Rexnord, signaling a more integrated and expansive motion portfolio.
The strategic significance of adding PMC cannot be understated. Most importantly, the merger changed the breadth of solutions we could deliver to our customers. Our greatly expanded portfolio meant that Regal Rexnord could now address a much wider range of power transmission needs, across a wider range of industries. In particular, our company now had the product scope to provide complete industrial powertrains, combining a motor with the critical power transmission components that connect the motor to whatever it is powering.
Where customers once sourced powertrain components individually and assembled their systems in-house, the new Regal Rexnord could now deliver the fully integrated solutions engineered that work better together. The result was improved reliability, greater efficiency, and stronger overall system performance for customers.
2022-Present: Powering Motion + Transmit Motion + Control Motion
Building off the momentum of the merger 2021, we sought to expand our capabilities into the strategically adjacent industrial automation space.
Our automation journey accelerated with the acquisition of Arrowhead Systems, which expanded our capabilities in conveying systems and allowed us to move further up the value chain with more complete solutions.
Regal Rexnord’s presence in automation achieved critical mass in 2023, with the acquisition of Altra Industrial Motion. Altra added advanced technologies including servo motors, linear actuators, servo drive systems, and automation control software. Sold under the market-leading Kollmorgen, Thomson, and Portescap brands. These products provided high-precision motion control in the discreet factory automation, aerospace, medical, and food & beverage markets.
Altra also strengthened our existing power transmission portfolio, particularly in clutches and brakes, creating a uniquely comprehensive offering on a global scale.
Our transformation positions us to deliver on a simple but powerful promise:
- Every product is engineered to solve a problem
- Every decision is made with our customers’ goals in mind
- Every choice helps us create a more sustainable future
Today, our portfolio spans the full motion ecosystem. We power motion, transmit motion, and control motion, enabling us to deliver more integrated, higher-value solutions to our customers.
Our Purpose
Our purpose is to create a better tomorrow with sustainable solutions that power, transmit & control motion.
