Engineering selection and product sourcing
B&R Industrial Automation
B&R Industrial Automation GmbH is an Austrian machine automation company founded in 1979 and owned by ABB since 2017, with its head office at B&R Strasse 1, 5142 Eggelsberg (+43 7748 6586-0). In the UK, B&R Industrial Automation Ltd. is based c/o ABB Ltd at Southgate Park, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6YS.
Pricing and availability
Source B&R Industrial Automation parts or compare a suitable alternative
Need B&R Industrial Automation parts, a replacement or a suitable alternative? Send us a part number, or tell us what the machine needs to do. Our UK engineers will come back with the right product, pricing, lead time and delivery, whether that is the original part, a checked alternative or a complete axis.
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Spec builder
Specify B&R Industrial Automation parts or an equivalent
Select every part you need and answer the questions an applications engineer would ask. Our engineers use your specification to come back with the right products, pricing and lead times. You see your summary before we ask for any details.
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| Legal name | B&R Industrial Automation GmbH |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | Erwin Bernecker and Josef Rainer |
| Owner / parent | ABB |
| Headquarters | 5142 Eggelsberg, Austria |
| Employees | more than 3,000 (as published by ABB, April 2017) |
| Website | br-automation.com/en-gb |
Manufacturer information and published contact details
B&R Industrial Automation contact details
Head office
B&R Strasse 15142 Eggelsberg
Austria
Telephone +43 7748 6586-0
Email office.br@abb.com
Website br-automation.com/en-gb
B&R Industrial Automation Ltd. (UK)
c/o ABB Ltd, Broadoak, Southgate ParkBakewell Road, Orton Southgate
Peterborough PE2 6YS
United Kingdom
Contact details as published by ABB, checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with ABB.
B&R Industrial Automation product lines
| ACOPOS P3 | 1-, 2- and 3-axis servo drives, 0.7 to 80 kW per module |
|---|---|
| ACOPOSmulti | Modular multi-axis servo system with power supply and inverter modules |
| ACOPOS, ACOPOSmicro, ACOPOS X, ACOPOSremote | Further servo drive families |
| ACOPOSmotor | Servo motors with integrated drive, 0.55 to 2.3 kW |
| 8LS, 8LV, 8KS, 8JS | Synchronous servo motors, including large and stainless steel versions |
| 8G and 80MP | Planetary gearboxes and stepper motors |
| X20 and Automation PC | PLC and PC-based controllers |
| Automation Studio | Integrated engineering software |
Who B&R is
B&R Industrial Automation is an Austrian maker of machine and factory automation, headquartered in Eggelsberg, Upper Austria, and since 2017 part of ABB. It describes itself as ABB’s global centre for machine and factory automation, responsible for machine automation within ABB Automation.
B&R’s approach is to supply the whole control system of a machine from one source: controllers, I/O, HMIs and industrial PCs, servo drives and motors, mechatronic systems and the Automation Studio software that ties them together. For motion engineers, it is best known for its ACOPOS servo drives, its 8-series synchronous motors and its POWERLINK real-time Ethernet. This profile concentrates on servo motors, servo drives and controllers.
History and ownership
Erwin Bernecker and Josef Rainer founded the company in 1979, and its name, B&R, comes from theirs. ABB’s 2017 investor presentation summarises the product history: early PLCs in the 1980s, the Automation Studio software in 1997, ACOPOS servo drives and motors in 1999, the POWERLINK open Ethernet protocol in 2002, the X20 PLC and I/O system in 2005 and the openSAFETY protocol in 2007. At that point B&R had more than 3,000 employees, was active in 70 countries and reported revenue of over 600 million US dollars for fiscal 2015/16.
ABB announced its acquisition of B&R, then Bernecker + Rainer Industrie-Elektronik GmbH, on 4 April 2017 and completed it on 6 July 2017. ABB described B&R as the largest independent provider of open-architecture machine and factory automation and made it a global business unit, Machine & Factory Automation, based in Eggelsberg. The imprint now names B&R Holding GmbH as sole shareholder of B&R Industrial Automation GmbH, and ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd as sole shareholder of the holding company.
Motion portfolio
Servo drives
The ACOPOS P3 is B&R’s compact multi-axis servo drive, with 1-, 2- and 3-axis modules from 0.7 kW up to 80 kW per module and a 50 µs sampling time, against 400 µs on the previous generation. The ACOPOSmulti is the modular system for larger machines: power supply modules and single- or two-axis inverter modules on POWERLINK, with wall, feed-through or cold-plate mounting and SafeMOTION variants. ACOPOSmicro, ACOPOS X and ACOPOSremote cover smaller and decentralised needs.
Within ACOPOS P3, B&R splits the range into power classes: high-power 1-axis modules at 32, 40, 51 and 80 kW and 2-axis modules up to 64 kW per axis, mid-power modules from 7 to 18 kW, low-power 1-, 2- and 3-axis modules from 1 to 4 kW, and a compact 1-axis version from 0.7 to 4 kW. B&R says the ACOPOS P3 needs about 50% less control cabinet space. Our servo drive hub explains how to size a drive’s continuous and peak current.
Servo motors
The 8LS synchronous motors are the core range, with stall torque from 0.8 to 390 Nm, nominal speeds from 1,300 to 6,000 rpm and flanges from 58 to 269.9 mm, in self-cooled and fan-cooled versions. The 8KS motors go up to 140 kW and 555 Nm stall torque with fan or water cooling. For hygienic machines, the 8JS stainless steel servo motors are IP69K, designed to EHEDG and FDA guidelines. The ACOPOSmotor puts the drive on the motor, from 0.55 to 2.3 kW, with power and POWERLINK on one hybrid cable. B&R also lists 8LV and 8WS motors, 8LT torque motors, 80MP stepper motors and 8G planetary gearboxes.
Controllers
The X20 controllers are modular PLCs up to Intel Atom performance, with POWERLINK and, on the current generation, OPC UA over TSN, connecting to around 250 X20 I/O modules. PC-based control runs on Automation PC and Panel PC hardware, and Power Panels combine control, motion and HMI. See our motion controller hub.
Technologies and standards
B&R developed POWERLINK, an open real-time Ethernet protocol, and the openSAFETY protocol for transmitting safety data. Its newer controllers support OPC UA over TSN. Safety functions such as STO, SS1, SLS and SDI are integrated in SafeMOTION drives and in the network version of ACOPOSmotor. The 8JS motors’ hygienic design follows EHEDG and FDA guidelines, with a surface finish below 0.8 µm.
Industries served
ABB’s 2017 summary lists plastics, metals, food and beverage, textile machinery, packaging, paper and printing and automotive among B&R’s served industries, with about 4,000 machine builder customers at the time. Our packaging and food market page covers the motion requirements most relevant to those machines.
Global and UK presence
B&R links to 22 country and language websites. In the UK, B&R Industrial Automation Ltd. is based c/o ABB Ltd at Broadoak, Southgate Park, Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6YS, email office.uk@br-automation.com. The pages we read give no UK phone number, so UK engineers are directed to the web contact form or the head office in Eggelsberg on +43 7748 6586-0.
Sourcing B&R parts through Specify Motion
Specify Motion is independent of B&R and ABB and is not affiliated with either. We can help you source ACOPOS drives and 8-series motors for an existing machine, or propose equivalents from our supply network on published figures. Send a part number through the find a replacement form.
B&R Industrial Automation history: key dates
- 1979Founded by Erwin Bernecker and Josef Rainer
- 1999ACOPOS servo drives and motors introduced
- 2002POWERLINK open real-time Ethernet protocol introduced
- 2005X20 PLC and I/O system introduced
- 2017ABB announces the acquisition of B&R on 4 April
- 2017ABB completes the acquisition on 6 July; B&R becomes its Machine & Factory Automation business
B&R Industrial Automation servo drives
ACOPOS P3
Compact 1-, 2- and 3-axis servo drives from 0.7 kW to 80 kW per module with a 50 µs sampling time, available with SafeMOTION.
ACOPOSmulti
Modular multi-axis servo system of power supply and single- or two-axis inverter modules on POWERLINK, with wall, feed-through (IP65 cooler) or cold-plate mounting and SafeMOTION inverter options.
B&R Industrial Automation servo motors
ACOPOSmotor (8DI)
Servo motor with integrated drive from 550 W to 2.3 kW and 1.2 to 10 Nm in three sizes, IP65, with POWERLINK and power on one hybrid connector and STO/SS1 safety.
8LS synchronous motors
Synchronous servo motors with stall torque from 0.8 to 390 Nm (series maximum, force-cooled 8LSP9), nominal speeds from 1,300 to 6,000 rpm and flanges from 58 to 269.9 mm.
8KS synchronous motors
Large synchronous servo motors up to 140 kW with stall torque up to 555 Nm air-cooled (575 Nm water-cooled 8KSJ9) and speeds to 3,000 rpm, with fan or water cooling.
8JS stainless steel servo motors (8JSB / 8JSQ)
Hygienic 100% stainless steel servo motors to IP69K in sizes 3 to 6, designed to EHEDG and FDA guidelines with surface finish below 0.8 µm and EnDat 2.2 encoders.
B&R Industrial Automation controllers, plcs and hmis
Engineer support
Ask about B&R Industrial Automation parts or equivalents
Tell us the part or application, quantity and timing. Our UK engineers will come back with the right product, pricing, lead time and delivery.
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- Like-for-like and better-fit alternatives
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Prefer to configure it? Use the spec builder.
How it works
From enquiry to delivery
Send a part number or describe the application. Our engineers take it from there: the right product, a clear quotation, and delivery and support arranged.
- 01Tell us what you needSend a part number, or configure the application, quantities and timing.
- 02An engineer reviews itWe check the specification and find the original part, a checked equivalent or a complete axis.
- 03Receive your quotationProducts, pricing, lead time and compatibility notes in one reply.
- 04Order and deliveryWhen you are happy, the order is placed and delivery and after-sales support are arranged.