HMS Networks

TLDR

HMS Networks is a Swedish industrial communications group headquartered in Halmstad that runs its Industrial Data Solutions division and Ewon product line from an R&D site in Nivelles, Belgium.

Overview

HMS Networks was founded in 1988 by Nicolas Hassbjer in Halmstad, Sweden and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in 2007. The company builds industrial communication products under brands including Anybus, Ewon, Ixxat, Intesis, and HMS Hub, connecting machines, controllers, and cloud platforms in factories, infrastructure, and buildings.

The Belgian presence comes from HMS Networks' 2016 acquisition of Nivelles-based eWON SA for approximately USD 32.6M. eWON had been founded in 2001 by Serge Bassem and Pierre Crokaert and developed the Talk2M cloud VPN service for secure remote access to industrial equipment. The Nivelles site, located at Avenue Robert Schuman 22, now hosts the group's Industrial Data Solutions division and is one of HMS's main R&D competence centres alongside Halmstad, Karlsruhe, Barcelona, and Chicago.

Product development for Ewon hardware and the Talk2M platform continues to be led from Belgium, and the Nivelles team contributes to wider HMS roadmaps for industrial gateways and remote connectivity. The acquisition added around fifteen development engineers at the time, and the founders Bassem and Crokaert became two of the top ten shareholders in HMS Networks AB.

Funding History

• 2007: Initial public offering on Nasdaq Stockholm
• February 2016: Acquired eWON SA (Nivelles, Belgium) for approximately USD 32.6M

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Networks
• https://www.hms-networks.com/about-us/history
• https://www.hms-networks.com/work-at-hms/nivelles
• https://www.hms-networks.com/news/news-details/15-02-2016-hms-industrial-networks-ab-acquires-ewon-sa--belgium
• https://www.automation.com/en-us/articles/2016-1/hms-industrial-networks-acquires-ewon