Menomonee Falls-based ZBB Energy Corp. has acquired Tier Electronics LLC, also based in Menomonee Falls, for a $1.35 million promissory note, 800,000 shares of stock and the assumption of about $900,000 in liabilities.
Tier Electronics will operate as a subsidiary of ZBB. Jeff Reichard, founder of Tier Electronics, will serve as its president and as a vice president of electronics development at ZBB. Tier Electronics’ facility will remain open, and its 16 employees will continue to work for the company.
The acquisition of the power electronics firm was a natural fit for ZBB and will greatly increase the company’s capabilities, said Eric Apfelbach, ZBB’s president and CEO.
“This is a game changer for us,” he said. “When it comes to renewable energy, we now have the capacity to store it, use it and manage it over a wide range of powers and applications. From intelligent, modular sub assemblies to nodes on micro grids through smart grid applications greater than 1MW, ZBB is positioned to be the price and performance leader in grid modernization power electronics technologies.”
ZBB makes batteries and power interface systems designed to store electricity generated by alternative energy sources and then integrate that power into electronic systems used by commercial and institutional properties.
“We’re living in a world where the alternative energy sector is growing,” Reichard said. “Cars are going from liquid fuel to electric, utilization of direct-current micro-grids is increasing and the shift from coal to renewable energy is growing by the day. We believe the combination of ZBB puts Tier’s designs in a stronger position to have an immediate impact on today’s rapidly changing alternative energy landscape.”
