Ametek acquires Spectro Analytical Instruments

Ametek Inc. expands its high-end analytical instrument platform with purchase of Spectro Beteiligungs GmbH, the holding company of Spectro Analytical Instruments GmbH & Co. KG and its affiliates.

By Control Engineering Staff July 21, 2005

Ametek Inc . expands its high-end analytical instrument platform with purchase of Spectro Beteiligungs GmbH, the holding company of Spectro Analytical Instruments GmbH & Co. KG and its affiliates. Spectro, a supplier of atomic spectroscopy analytical instrumentation, was acquired from an investor group for approximately $98 million (EUR 80 million). Headquartered in Kleve, Germany, the company has annual sales of around $104 million (EUR 85 million). The company will join Ametek’s Electronic Instruments Group.

Spectro designs, manufactures, and services atomic spectroscopic instrumentation to analyze elemental composition of solids and liquids. Using optical emission or energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence measurement techniques, Spectro’s instruments address the analysis needs of such markets as metal production processing, environmental testing, hydrocarbon processing, aerospace, food processing, and pharmaceutical.

Ametek said the acquisition significantly expands its elemental analysis capabilities, bringing its high-end analytical businesses to nearly $375 million in annual revenue. Spectro is said to hold a leading market position for metal analyzers, employing arc/spark optical emission spectrometry. Its inductively coupled plasma (ICP) optical emission spectrometers are expected to give Ametek the capability of making analytical liquids analysis.

—Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, Control Engineering, jkatzel@reedbusiness.com