ATS (ATS) UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference summary

Current business landscape

• Focuses on equipment and machines for life sciences, food safety, consumer products, nuclear, and transportation, with life sciences making up about 50% of business.

• Transportation segment has been right-sized and now represents 8–12% of future business, with a harvest strategy in place.

• Book-to-bill ratio above one in all markets except transportation, indicating ongoing expansion.

• Niche, high-value applications are prioritized, such as auto-injectors for GLP-1 drugs and radiopharmaceuticals.

• Food safety and processing, including primary and secondary (e.g., baby food), are key growth areas.

Growth strategy and market trends

• Targets to outpace the global automation market, which grows at mid-single digits, by focusing on high-growth niches.

• Organic growth has averaged 9% CAGR over five years; with M&A, total growth is near 19%.

• Automation is driven by labor shortages, supply chain de-risking, and onshoring, with strong customer demand for efficiency and quality.

• Customers see significant returns from automation, such as a 20-point gross margin increase after moving production closer to R&D.

M&A approach and synergies

• M&A focuses on market fit, strategic rationale, operational integration, and financial return (targeting double-digit ROIC within five years).

• Recent acquisitions include Heidolph, Paxiom, and UReality, expanding digital and training capabilities.

• Synergies are realized quickly, with cross-vertical technology applications (e.g., Paxiom’s packaging tech used in life sciences).

• Pipeline for acquisitions remains strong, with a decentralized but synergistic integration model.