MTL acquires operator display manufacturer

MTL Instruments Group has acquired the GeCma group of companies. Kerpen, Germany-based GeCma manufactures operator display units for use in hazardous industrial areas.

GeCma manufactures operator display units for hazardous areas.

MTL Instruments Group has acquired the GeCma group of companies. Kerpen, Germany-based GeCma manufactures operator display units for use in hazardous industrial areas. The move is part of MTL’s expansion strategy to increase number of products available through its existing sales channel and augment offerings of open control components for hazardous environments.

GeCma’s displays are designed for use in chemical and petrochemical plants and pharmaceutical operations. MTL already targets these applications with its range of remote I/O devices and surge protection products. The acquisition expands MTLs product offerings to companies moving to an open systems environment, which requires more control equipment be located close to the process on the plant floor close or in the field and streamlines the role of the central control room.

Frank Kellershohn, founder of GeCma, will join MTL as director of the newly formed Visualisation Business Unit. GeCma’s display units include a flat panel screen VDU, a rugged keyboard, and other peripheral equipment, such as track balls and fingerprint scanners. Hermetically sealed products are safe for use in all hazardous environments, including harsh chemicals or explosive gases and dusts.

MTL Instruments Group develops and supplies intrinsic safety, open process control components, and surge protection products to the process control and telecommunications industries. GeCma Components GmbH produces intrinsically safe computer terminals for safe and hazardous areas in the process, chemical, and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries.

—Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, Control Engineering, [email protected]