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IMI
acquisition strengthens
fluid power strategy IMI has agreed to acquire Fluid Automation
Systems (FAS), an innovative, high technology Swiss company and will
add it to it’s Norgren group. FAS specialises in miniature solenoid
valve solutions for markets including medical, printing, semiconductor
and beverage machinery. This is subject to regulatory approval, for
an enterprise value of around £20 million. In the financial year
ending December 2003, FAS operating profit was £2 million on sales
of £23 million. The value of the net operating assets to be acquired
is approximately £6 million. Completion is expected within the
next two months. Together, Norgren and FAS intend to create a competitive
advantage for customers by helping them to up sales and reduce costs.
Critical to success is key account management expertise and dedicated
design resource. FAS has invested heavily in both and has established
a strong reputation for technological innovation.
This acquisition would enable focus on higher growth for OEM customers
in key market sectors, for whom added-value solutions can make a real
difference. FAS has established close key account relationships in market
sectors already targeted by IMI’s Norgren business and strengthens
Norgren’s ability to bring advanced motion and fluid control solutions
to major global customers. FAS has also developed a market-leading position
in miniature solenoid valves, which are particularly important in medical
and semiconductor industries in applications where space is a critical
factor. This FAS technology, together with Norgren’s mid-size ranges
provides a comprehensive solutions platform.
Nika announces Version 5.0 for EFD.Lab and
EFD.V5
Nika GmbH, the leading provider of fluid flow and
heat transfer simulation software for engineers, has introduced the
latest versions of its EFD.Lab and EFD.V5 fluid flow and heat transfer
simulation programmes. EFD.Lab is a leading industry fluid flow and
heat transfer simulation software while EFD.V5 offers a seamless integration
between Dassault Systèmes' CATIA V5 and Nikas analysis technology.
The latest improvements are based on customer feedback and offer increased
simulation efficiency through new solver as well as pre- and postprocessing
technologies. Through automation, NIKA has made every single step in
this process as efficient as possible to enable even very complex simulation
projects to keep pace with the typical design cycle. These latest versions
offer yet another significant step towards the routine use of fluid
flow simulation as a standard tool for engineers. Due to the level of
automation Nika has achieved in all elements of the simulation process,
design cycle integrated flow simulations as an integral part of the
PLM concept has finally became a reality in EFD.Lab and EFD.
Economical new isolator provides better performance
Newport’s ND60 NewDamp isolator provides economical
vibration-isolation support for low-load applications, such as breadboards,
optical rails, laser systems, and Newport’s line of workstations.
Fabricated from a highly engineered form of U-16 polyurethane, these
new products deliver up to five times better damping than other commercial
elastomeric isolators. In addition, the use of a novel (multiple-cone)
geometry yields isolation performance that is virtually load-independent,
unlike systems based on softer materials.
NewDamp isolators are ideal for testing and manufacturing applications
that do not require the low-frequency isolation bandwidth of pneumatic
or active isolation systems. These include wafer inspection and positioning
systems, and precision electronic manufacturing. For production environments,
NewDamp isolators offer enhanced convenience, because they do not need
any electronic circuitry, air hoses, or other supporting hardware. Moreover,
their short settling time makes these products ideal for use in high
throughput situations.
In addition, the U-16 material is fully cleanroom compatible and even
meets NASA spacecraft outgassing specifications.
NewDamp isolators are available in a variety of standard and custom
designs. In addition, NewDamp elastomers are also available as elastic
elements, for incorporation into OEM vibration-isolations systems.
Newport can provide the software, testing hardware, and prototype services
to assist in the development of these systems. ...
....CONTD
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