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October News in Brief

01 October, 2008

♦  Moog has bought California-based Berkeley Process Control for $14m. Berkeley specialises in high-performance motion control systems for specialised applications such as semiconductor manufacturing, medical equipment, and welding systems for nuclear fuel canisters and oil and gas equipment.   

♦  Parker Hannifin has appointed Charly Saulnier to the new position of President, Europe, Middle East and Africa group. Saulnier, who has been with Parker for 37 years, was previously president of sales for EMEA. He will be based at the new European HQ in Switzerland.

♦  The Council of the ISA has voted to change the organisation’s name to the International Society of Automation. Previously, the initials stood for the Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society, and before that it was the Instrument Society of America.

♦  A fire has badly damaged the Californian factory of the encoder manufacturer Computer Optical Products, owned by Allied Motion Technologies. A “short-term” disruption of supplies is expected.

♦  The US motor developer Thor Power is up for sale. The company has spent six years and more than $1m developing a high-efficiency, three-phase brushless motor with a claimed efficiency of 90% – 10-15% higher than brushed motors of a similar rating. Thor’s Trezium motors are also said to be less than half the size and weight of machines with a comparable power, and to have a power factor of at least 99%. Thor shipped its first products in October.

♦  Pepperl+Fuchs has acquired Christensen Display Products, a US-based manufacturer of rugged flat-panel monitors for the industrial control and process markets. Christensen’s range spans more than 200 models, including versions for use in hazardous areas.

♦  Datalogic, an Italian manufacturer of barcode readers, automatic identification systems, and RFID systems, is buying the Italian sensor manufacturer Datasensor for around €45m. Datasensor, which specialises in photoelectric sensors, has sales worth €31.7m in 2007.

♦  The electromechanical manufacturer Methode Electronics has bought Hetronic Holding, which specialises in radio-based remote controls.  Hetronic employs more than 400 people worldwide and had sales worth around $45m in the year to June 2008. 

♦  Deutsche Messe, the organiser of the Hannover Fair, is launching two trade shows in Dubai: Industrial Automation Middle East and Motion, Drive & Automation Middle East. They will be held for the first time from 19–21 January 2010, at Dubai’s International Airport Expo Centre.  




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