Dolch acquires Touch Controls

Fremont, Calif. - Dolch Computer Systems announced Oct. 16 that it has acquired Touch Controls Inc. (Fallbrook, Calif.), a manufacturer of rugged touch solutions for remote computing applications, industrial computers, and public access kiosks.

By Jim Montague, news editor November 6, 2001

Fremont, Calif. – Dolch Computer Systems announced Oct. 16 that it has acquired Touch Controls Inc. (Fallbrook, Calif.), a manufacturer of rugged touch solutions for remote computing applications, industrial computers, and public access kiosks. The acquisition will enable Dolch to expand into new harsh environment markets.

‘Touch Controls represents a natural evolution for the Dolch brand,’ says Jim Ciardella, Dolch’s president. ‘There is strong market demand for rugged display products that can survive in extremely harsh and hazardous environments. Until now, we were unable to find a suitable partner to meet that demand. Touch Controls’ technological prowess and market leadership means we are now able to offer rugged HMI solutions.’

Robert Frulla, Touch Controls’ ceo, adds, ‘We are very excited about becoming part of the Dolch family. Dolch’s global reach and sterling reputation for service and support will enable us to expand our marketshare faster and more efficiently than would be possible alone. Best of all, our business philosophies couldn’t be more alike: offer the highest quality products possible, backed by an infrastructure built exclusively to serve the customer long term.’

Touch Controls’ HMI products are designed to withstand the most extreme conditions possible, from processing plants in the food or chemical industries to heavy-traffic point-of-sale terminals. The company designs and manufactures custom industrial enclosures for harsh conditions including Class I, Divisions 1 & 2, and NEMA 4/4X applications.

Touch Controls also offers four industrial computer models, ranging from the ATXPowerBox to the PC-104 MicroBox, which can be hardened against shock and vibration, and is unaffected by dirt, dust, oil and hose-down cleaning. All products are available with EnhancedInfared touch technology.

‘You can literally take a baseball bat to a Touch Controls product, and it will continue operating. This is simply amazing, and is one of the reasons we were so interested in them,’ adds Mr. Ciardella.

Touch Controls’ latest product is its RayFire FP fiberoptic digital video transmission system. RayFire FP enables monitors and input devices to be placed up to two miles from their host computer. This enables companies to establish computers in non-hostile environments, while their input devices can be located in the harshest conditions.

‘Touch Controls’ ability to innovate is remarkable, and we fully intend to use its expertise and facilities to develop Dolch products for a variety of market segments, even those outside the HMI sector,’ added Mr. Ciardella.