Bayside Motion Group has bought the German drives-maker D-Tech, adding electronic controls to its predominantly mechanical portfolio. The acquisition will also boost Bayside`s plans to expand its European business, and follows the recent opening of new factory near Frankfurt that gives the US company an assembly and production capacity in Europe for the first time.

"Bayside is well established on the mechanical side of motion control technology," says Paul Seale, the company`s European sales manager. "However, a piece of the jigsaw was missing without being able to offer the necessary control capability. D-Tech`s products will help to complete the picture."

D-Tech, based in Bielefeld, makes a family of digital servo drives that can be used for both velocity and position control of synchronous and asynchronous motors. The drives, which use a patented, vector-based, sensorless field algorithm, cover ratings from 0.5-3kW in a palm-sized package.

Bayside`s 500m² Frankfurt site will allow it to offer products tailored to the European market, as well as more than doubling its office accommodation. According to Ron Schneider, Bayside`s European operations manager, the move has been timed so that the company is "well placed for the expected economic upturn during 2002".

Initially the new factory will assemble Bayside`s "Stealth" planetary servo gearheads, but other products, such as servo gearmotors, linear stages and servo amplifiers, will be added later.