Rockwell International Corp.: The Seal Beach-based firm...

Rockwell International Corp.: The Seal Beach-based firm has formed a new industrial automation software division by buying ICOM Inc., based in West Allis, Wis., and merging it with the software business of Rockwell’s Allen-Bradley Co. Inc. subsidiary. Terms of Rockwell’s agreement with ICOM were not disclosed.

The new division will have about 250 employees at facilities in West Allis and Milwaukee, and in Highland Heights, Ohio.

Allen-Bradley’s 144 Orange County employees are not part of the new division and will not be affected by the merger, said an Allen-Bradley spokeswoman.

Allen-Bradley, based in Milwaukee, builds and sells equipment for automated manufacturing. ICOM is a major supplier to the automation software industry.