After closing $1.45 billion deal, Everett's Fortive is hunting for more acquisitions

Everett-based industrial technology company Fortive Corp. (NYSE: FTV) is still on the acquisition trail.

Fortive closed its $1.45 billion purchase of the German power electronics company EA Elektro-Automatik in January, and Fortive CEO James Lico said the company made multiple smaller acquisitions last year. According to Lico, acquisitions are an important part of Fortive's growth.

"At the end of the day, what we do, whether it's a manufacturing plant or an engineering lab or a hospital, we're really focused on safety and productivity across vital sectors of the economy," he said. "The industries we're in, of manufacturing plants, commercial facilities, engineering labs and hospitals, those are kind of the big four for us. That will be where we stay focused."

Fortive, which spun out of the life sciences conglomerate Danaher Corp. in 2016, offers a range of health care and industrial technology products and services through more than a dozen subsidiaries. Its services include infection prevention technologies, facilities management and pressure sensors.

Related coverage

Fortive has about 18,000 employees, and Lico estimated about 10% of those employees are based in the Puget Sound region. He added that it's important to have a presence here because of access to talent more so than access to clients. Fortive has open roles on its website in sales, manufacturing and engineering, among others.

EA Elektro-Automatik is now operating under Tektronix, Fortive's subsidiary focused on testing and monitoring for fields like telecommunications, aerospace and consumer electronics. Lico said EA Elektro-Automatik will keep its brand for now.

"The team is working to integrate the sales pitch and that kind of thing so that our sales team around the world and our services teams around the world can help accelerate the growth of EA," Lico said.

Fortive generated $1.52 billion in revenue during the first quarter, up 4% year over year.