Dublin, O.— Peerless-Winsmith Inc., a division of privately held HBD Industries Inc., acquired in early February the industrial motor and drive product lines of a company originally called Powertec Industrial Corp. HBD manufactures electric motors, power transmission gears and speed reducers, as well as other industrial products and equipment. Powertec's product lines include brushless dc motors of unusual size range—fractional to 400 hp— and adjustable-speed drives for industrial applications.

"All original intellectual property rights, trademarks, tools, and equipment are being transferred," says Ed Lee, general manager and vp of marketing for the new entity, named Powertec Industrial Motors Inc. (Rock Hill, S.C.).

Prior to the sale, Powertec technology was owned by Pacific Scientific (Rockford, Ill.), which acquired the company in late 1993. Subsequently, PacSci became part of the Motion Control Business Unit of Danaher Corp. (Washington, D.C.). Apparently brushless dc technology of such large size and power ratings did not fit into the long-term strategic plans of Pacific Scientific. "We made a strategic focus decision. That focus is on lower power servo and stepper technology, under 20 kW, for precision motion control," stated a Pacific Scientific spokesperson.

In other news, American Precision Industries (API, Buffalo, N.Y.) announced Feb. 16 that it agreed to be acquired by Danaher Corp. (Washington, D.C.) for about $250 million, which includes all API stock and its outstanding debt.