ASD Inc. Integration with PANalytical Brings Diverse Opportunities for Collaboration and Expansion

Top Quote ASD Inc. was recently acquired by Spectris plc and PANalytical B.V. All companies look forward to a long relationship developing innovative technologies and operational synergies. End Quote
  • (1888PressRelease) March 27, 2013 - ASD Inc., manufacturer of Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy instrumentation for materials measurement and research, was acquired by Spectris plc (LSE: SXS), the productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company. The acquisition was completed on January 31, 2013.

    Through the acquisition, ASD becomes Spectris' "NIR Excellence Center" and will be integrated with PANalytical B.V., located in the Netherlands.

    ASD was acquired for a debt and cash-free net consideration of $14 million. The consideration will be met from existing cash and bank facilities and is subject to routine balance sheet adjustments. In addition, a contingent consideration of up to $19 million may become payable to the sellers, based on achieving growth in sales targets for the 36-month period ending December 31, 2015.

    ASD will become part of Spectris' Materials Analysis segment and will be integrated with PANalytical B.V., the world's leading supplier of instrumentation and services for X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry. PANalytical offers analytical equipment for industrial and scientific applications, as well as the semiconductor market. ASD's NIR instrumentation and solutions naturally complement PANalytical's superior analysis systems.

    "ASD's successful NIR solutions for the remote sensing, mining and other industrial markets augment and extend PANalytical's offerings toward scientific and industrial customers and will add a new contiguous product line with portable, handheld, benchtop and online products," said Jim Webster, Business Group Director at Spectris. "The acquisition of ASD will provide strong synergies in the combination of both companies' technologies, customer support capabilities and distribution channels."

    Concurrently, Dr. Alexander F. H. Goetz, co-founder of ASD and the renowned "father of hyperspectral imaging," retired from his position as Chief Scientist. Dr. Goetz founded ASD with Dr. Brian Curtiss, Chief Technology Officer, in 1990.

    More than 20 years ago, Dr. Goetz responded to earth-science researchers' call for a high-performance, portable instrument that could be used in field work. He designed the FieldSpec® FR, the world's first high-speed, truly portable full-range spectroradiometer, which was quickly embraced by fellow scientists around the world. Dr. Goetz's career includes 15 years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and more than 20 years as founding Director of the Center for the Study of Earth from Space (CSES), at the University of Colorado.

    Additionally, David Rzasa, CEO and President, and Thomas Beck, CFO, will step down from their positions with ASD and the company's board of directors. Bob Faus, PE, previously vice president of engineering, and Michael Lands, vice president of sales and marketing, will assume executive leadership positions as vice president and general manager, NIR, and vice president, sales and marketing, NIR, respectively.

    "The recent acquisition expands our potential to serve more customers and reach out to more prospects in a wide range of industries," said Michael Lands, vice president, sales and marketing, NIR. "Our parent companies are ready to support our vision and grow our product offerings, services and programs to even higher levels of success."

    About ASD
    Established in 1990 in Boulder, Colo., ASD Inc., a PANalytical company, is the global leader in high-performance analytical instrumentation solutions, solving some of the most challenging real-world materials measurement problems. ASD spectrometers - unparalleled in providing laboratory-grade results in the field or on-site - are the instruments of choice for remote sensing, environmental sciences, agricultural and mining industry applications, where results drive paradigm-changing insights, efficiency and profit. ASD's collaborative culture and world-class customer service put the best, fastest and most accurate spectroscopic instruments to work for industry and science in more than 70 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.asdi.com.

    About Spectris
    Spectris PLC is a leading supplier of productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls. The Company's products and technologies help customers to improve product quality and performance, improve core manufacturing processes, reduce downtime and wastage and reduce time to market. Its global customer base spans a diverse range of end user markets. Spectris operates across four business segments which reflect the applications and industries it serves: Materials Analysis, Test and Measurement, In-line Instrumentation and Industrial Controls. Headquartered in Egham, Surrey, England, the Company employs approximately 7,600 people, with offices in more than 30 countries. For more information, please visit www.spectris.com.

    About PANalytical
    PANalytical is the world's leading supplier of analytical instrumentation and software for X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), with more than half a century of experience. The materials characterization equipment is used for scientific research and development, for industrial process control applications and for semiconductor metrology.

    PANalytical, founded in 1948 as part of Philips, employs around 1000 people worldwide. Its headquarters are in Almelo, the Netherlands. Fully equipped application laboratories are established in Japan, China, the USA, and the Netherlands. PANalytical's research activities are based in Almelo (NL) and on the campus of the University of Sussex in Brighton (UK). Supply and competence centers are located on two sites in the Netherlands: Almelo (development and production of X-ray instruments) and Eindhoven (development and production of X-ray tubes). A sales and service network in more than 60 countries ensures unrivalled levels of customer support.

    The company is certified in accordance with ISO 9001-2008 and ISO 14001.
    The product portfolio includes a broad range of XRD and XRF systems and software widely used for the analysis and materials characterization of products such as cement, metals and steel, nanomaterials, plastics, polymers and petrochemicals, industrial minerals, glass, catalysts, semiconductors, thin films and advanced materials, pharmaceutical solids, recycled materials and environmental samples.

    Visit our website at www.panalytical.com for more information about our activities.

    PANalytical is part of Spectris plc, the productivity-enhancing instrumentation and controls company.

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