Saline, Mich.— Xycom Inc. and Automation Systems and Products Inc. (ASAP, Chagrin Falls, O.) announced July 27 that they will merge. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the two companies expect to complete the merger within the next few weeks. The firms say they'll combine expertise in producing automation hardware and software so they can jointly develop and market solutions on a global basis and serve customers seeking open automation products. Xycom and ASAP will continue to be managed by their current presidents, Thomas Gross and Dr. Ahmad Sadre, respectively. Xycom's parent, Xycom Holding Inc., will maintain its current structure, but Dr. Sadre will be added as president. "This merger will give us an even stronger foothold in the open control market," says Mr. Gross. "Merging the most reliable and cost-effective hardware supplier with the most innovative software supplier makes sense for many different reasons, the most important being the ability to provide a complete solution to a market that wants to buy complete solutions. Xycom and ASAP have been teaming on selected projects for some time, and the results have been so positive that Dr. Sadre and I decided to take the idea to the next level."