X-Rite Inc has sold its Labsphere subsidiary to Halma plc, a UK-based safety, health and sensor technology group, for approximately $15 million. Labsphere, based in Sutton, New Hampshire, is a recognized leader in the design and manufacture of innovative light testing and measurement products, including specialist LED testing equipment.
Labsphere's unaudited accounts for 2006 show revenues of $12.5 million and an operating profit of $2.4 million. Halma also owns Ocean Optics, another company with strong expertise in photonics test and measurement.
Magtech signs distribution agreement with Arrow
The North American Components (NAC) business of Arrow Electronics, Inc. and Magtech Industries Corporation, a provider of power supply products, have entered into a distribution agreement to provide original equipment and contract manufacturers with products for the development of lighting solutions.
The agreement enables Arrow NAC to distribute in North America Magtech's products, including LED driver and power supplies for high-brightness LED lighting solutions. Read the company press release.
Pacer USA opens optoelectronics design centre
Customers of Pacer USA in North America can now benefit from a new optoelectronics design centre, offering full design and production services for LED, laser and sensor products. The Pacer design centre offers companies an informed and affordable external option to bring products to market when their own design / production resources are at full stretch.
Pacer's in-house electronic, optical and mechanical design capability has many years experience of taking a product concept through design, prototyping, test and verification into full volume production.
Epichem acquired by Sigma-Aldrich
Chemicals giant Sigma-Aldrich Corporation has acquired all of the outstanding shares of Epichem Group Limited of Bromborough, UK. Epichem is one of the leading suppliers of chemical precursor materials that are used in the growth of LED layer structures by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). Examples of metal-organic compounds used in MOCVD growth are trimethyl gallium (TMG) and trimethyl aluminum (TMA), which are sources of gallium and aluminium, respectively, for semiconductor materials such as GaAs and AlGaInP.
