# Electric motors and drives: Value chain

From rare-earth magnets to the pumps in every factory

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/valuechain/

What this tab covers Who does what, from equipment makers to builders, owners, operators, traders and users, with the leading companies at each step.

Raw copper, electrical steel, aluminium and rare-earth magnets go to motor and drive makers, who sell to machine builders (pump, fan, compressor makers), installers and end users in industry and buildings.

#### The chain
 Materials and magnets Power semiconductors for drives Motor makers Variable speed drive makers Machine builders and system integrators Owners, operators and service

| Stage | What happens | Leading companies |
|---|---|---|
| **Materials and magnets** | Copper wire, laminations of silicon electrical steel, cast aluminium or copper rotor cages, and rare-earth magnets for permanent-magnet machines. Magnet supply is dominated by China. | Chinese sintered magnet producers (about 94% of world output, China)^[5](https://www.iea.org/reports/rare-earth-elements/executive-summary) |
| **Power semiconductors for drives** | Variable speed drives switch current with IGBTs and MOSFETs. In 2024 the five largest suppliers of power discretes and modules held about 41% of a USD 32.8 billion market (calculated from their individual shares). | Infineon (Germany), 17.4% onsemi (United States), 8.5% STMicroelectronics (Switzerland/France/Italy), 6.9% Mitsubishi Electric (Japan), 4.6% Fuji Electric (Japan), 3.9%^[7](https://www.infineon.com/assets/row/public/documents/corporate/fy2025-q4-web-en.pdf) |
| **Motor makers** | Design, wind and assemble motors from fractional-kW appliance motors to multi-MW machines. In low-voltage motors, Omdia's 2023 data (shown by WEG) put the leader at 16.0% and WEG second at 11.5%, or about 15% after WEG bought Regal Rexnord's industrial motor business (Marathon) in 2024; WEG now calls itself the largest maker (company claim). Interact Analysis names ABB as the biggest seller of low-voltage AC motors, with Nidec and Wolong growing; Siemens moved its large and low-voltage motor business into Innomotics, which it agreed to sell to KPS Capital Partners in 2024. | WEG (Brazil) ABB (Switzerland) Nidec (Japan) Wolong Electric (China) Innomotics (Germany, formerly Siemens) Regal Rexnord (United States, small and HVAC motors) Toshiba (Japan)^[6](https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/50c1bd3e-8ac6-42d9-884f-b9d69f690602/ded3aab1-3bea-2658-33e0-41c638a6eed0?origin=2)^[10](https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/50c1bd3e-8ac6-42d9-884f-b9d69f690602/1766f119-77cf-81ce-7480-f0d5406857a9?origin=2)^[11](https://drivesncontrols.com/lv-ac-motor-sales-likely-to-decline-further-in-2024/)^[12](https://www.nidec.com/en/corporate/about)^[13](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/82811/000008281126000054/rbc-20251231.htm)^[14](https://www.toshiba.com/tic/industrial/general-purpose-motors)^[19](https://www.kpsfund.com/news/press-releases/2024/05/16/kps-capital-partners-to-acquire-innomotics-from-siemens-ag) |
| **Variable speed drive makers** | Package power semiconductors, controls and cooling into drives sold with or separately from motors. Global low-voltage AC drive sales were about USD 14.4 billion in 2025 (Interact Analysis); no free supplier ranking was found, so the firms listed are large makers by their own reports. | ABB (Switzerland), says its Motion business is the largest supplier of drives and motors (company claim) Siemens (Germany) Danfoss (Denmark) Yaskawa Electric (Japan) Inovance (China)^[15](https://library.e.abb.com/public/2a20e37a85ea4bb38eb3dbf750ed6f90/Presentation%20ABB%20Group%20Global%20and%20Italy_May%202026_english.pdf)^[16](https://www.danfoss.com/en/about-danfoss/our-businesses/drives/about-danfoss-drives/)^[17](https://www.yaskawa-global.com/?p=739)^[18](https://static.cninfo.com.cn/finalpage/enpage//300124_2.pdf)^[20](https://interact-analysis.prezly.com/low-voltage-ac-drives-market-to-reach-17-billion-by-2030)^[21](https://www.siemens.com/sinamics) |
| **Machine builders and system integrators** | Pump, fan, compressor and conveyor makers fit a motor and often a drive, and sell the package to industry, utilities and buildings. |  |
| **Owners, operators and service** | Factories, water utilities and building owners run the motors, often for 20 years or more, and repair or rewind them. Energy is by far their biggest cost of ownership. | ^[3](https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/04/f15/amo_motors_handbook_web.pdf) |

Machine builders, installers and repair shops are fragmented local businesses; no reliable global ranking was found for them.

#### Sources

1. [Premium Efficiency Motor Selection and Application Guide: A Handbook for Industry](https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/04/f15/amo_motors_handbook_web.pdf) US Department of Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office, 2014
2. [Rare earth elements: executive summary](https://www.iea.org/reports/rare-earth-elements/executive-summary) International Energy Agency, 2026
3. [WEG investor presentation: low-voltage industrial motors market share (citing Omdia 2023, LV Motors)](https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/50c1bd3e-8ac6-42d9-884f-b9d69f690602/ded3aab1-3bea-2658-33e0-41c638a6eed0?origin=2) WEG S.A., 2024
4. [Infineon investor presentation Q4 FY2025 (citing Omdia Power Semiconductor Market Share Database, October 2025)](https://www.infineon.com/assets/row/public/documents/corporate/fy2025-q4-web-en.pdf) Infineon Technologies, 2025
5. [WEG investor presentation (FY2025 results)](https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/50c1bd3e-8ac6-42d9-884f-b9d69f690602/1766f119-77cf-81ce-7480-f0d5406857a9?origin=2) WEG S.A., 2026
6. [LV AC motor sales likely to decline further in 2024 (reporting Interact Analysis)](https://drivesncontrols.com/lv-ac-motor-sales-likely-to-decline-further-in-2024/) Drives and Controls, 2024
7. [About Nidec](https://www.nidec.com/en/corporate/about) Nidec Corporation, 2026
8. [Regal Rexnord Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/82811/000008281126000054/rbc-20251231.htm) Regal Rexnord / US SEC, 2026
9. [General purpose motors](https://www.toshiba.com/tic/industrial/general-purpose-motors) Toshiba International Corporation, 2026
10. [ABB Group presentation, May 2026](https://library.e.abb.com/public/2a20e37a85ea4bb38eb3dbf750ed6f90/Presentation%20ABB%20Group%20Global%20and%20Italy_May%202026_english.pdf) ABB, 2026
11. [About Danfoss Drives](https://www.danfoss.com/en/about-danfoss/our-businesses/drives/about-danfoss-drives/) Danfoss, 2026
12. [Corporate data](https://www.yaskawa-global.com/?p=739) Yaskawa Electric Corporation, 2026
13. [Company profile and investor relations](https://static.cninfo.com.cn/finalpage/enpage//300124_2.pdf) Shenzhen Inovance Technology (via CNINFO), 2026
14. [KPS Capital Partners to acquire Innomotics from Siemens AG (press release, 16 May 2024)](https://www.kpsfund.com/news/press-releases/2024/05/16/kps-capital-partners-to-acquire-innomotics-from-siemens-ag) KPS Capital Partners, 2024
15. [Low-voltage AC drives market to reach USD 17 billion by 2030 (press release, 20 May 2026)](https://interact-analysis.prezly.com/low-voltage-ac-drives-market-to-reach-17-billion-by-2030) Interact Analysis, 2026
16. [SINAMICS drives (product family page)](https://www.siemens.com/sinamics) Siemens, 2026

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/correlation/index.md)
- [Science and limits](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/science/index.md)
- [Unit economics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/economics/index.md)
- [Engineering methods](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/methods/index.md)
- [Equipment and suppliers](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/equipment/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_motors/links/index.md)