Ametek Bolsters Level Measurement With Drexelbrook Acquisition
Ametek, Inc. (Paoli, PA) has acquired Drexelbrook Engineering Co., a leading manufacturer of capacitance/radio frequency (R/F) level measurement instruments, for approximately $25 million in cash. Drexelbrook, based in Horsham, PA, operates service facilities in Japan and the Netherlands and has 220 employees. It registered sales of roughly $30 million in 1999.Drexelbrook complements Ametek Patriot Sensors, formerly Patriot Sensors & Controls Corp. (Clawson, MI), which Ametek acquired this past August for $70 million in cash. Patriot manufactures a broad range of sensors, including point level and continuous liquid level tank gauges, position sensors, and aviation sensors. With 235 employees and $40 million in sales, the company manufactures its products in Clawson, MI; Peck, MI; and Simi Valley, CA.
Ametek folded Patriot into its $414 million Electronic Instruments Group, which makes aerospace, process, and vehicle analyzers, displays, instruments, sensors, and transducers. In addition to Patriot, the group acquired National Controls Corp. and Gulton Statham Transducers during 1999.
Ametek also divided Patriot's operations into market focused divisions. The Detroit-area operations became Ametek Patriot Sensors, a new division dedicated to level measurement and position- sensing products. The unit has been growing at double-digit rates and has high profit margins. (Ametek Electronic Instruments Group operating profits rose to 15.8% in the third quarter of 1999, from 14.3% during the same quarter of 1998.)
Drexelbrook
Drexelbrook complements Patriot's process sensing business. The company manufactures capacitance/RF and ultrasonic point and continuous level measurement and control devices and flow measurement instrumentation. Target markets include chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, pulp and paper, and water and wastewater.
"Drexelbrook is the acknowledged leader in capacitance/RF level measurement products and has a strong position in ultrasonic products," says Ametek president/CEO Frank Hermance.
"Drexelbrook is an excellent fit with our recently acquired Patriot Sensors level measurement business," he continues. "These two businesses will allow Ametek to offer the level measurement market a variety of technology-based solutions to best satisfy its needs."
Recent Drexelbrook product introductions include the Universal Lite 509-15 Series level transmitters. These moderately priced HART Smart continuous level transmitters are easily calibrated and configured using a four-step menu without the need for handheld configurators, meters, or any other test equipment. It works well with liquids and light slurries that do not leave significant coating build-up on the sensor.
Drexelbrook's Universal Sonic two-wire 505-4200 Series level transmitter is another recent product line addition. The company says the unit combines simple setup with performance equal to the company's proven four-wire transmitters. The unit also promises rapid response times, choice analog or HART output signals, configure with or without power, on the bench or in the field and autoprofiling, which automatically ignores false echoes from internal tank obstructions (without requiring tank mapping).
Drexelbrook and Ametek Patriot Sensors will operate as separate units of Ametek Sensor Technology Div., which replaces the Ametek Patriot Sensors Div. "These businesses will themselves serve as platforms for future acquisitions," says Hermance.
For more information: Ametek Corp., Station Square, Paoli, PA 19301. Phone: 610-647-2121. Fax: 610-296-3412.
By Alan S. Brown