Perceptron Acquires Coord3 and Next Metrology

Perceptron Inc. (Plymouth, MI), a leader in non-contact 3D machine vision solutions for industrial measurement, inspection, and robot guidance applications, announced that it has reached agreement to acquire two European metrology companies.

• Coord3 Industries s.r.l (Turin, Italy), a leading mid-market designer and builder of a full range of high-quality and high-performance coordinate measurement machines (CMMs).
• Next Metrology Software s.r.o. (Prague, Czech Republic), a technical leader in CMM operating software and the developer of TouchDMIS™.

The NMS acquisition closed on January 29, 2015. The Coord3 acquisition is expected to close in February 2015, subject to customary closing conditions. The total value of the transactions will be approximately $15.9 million, in a combination of cash and assumed debt. The combined companies have approximately $15 million in annual revenue. Management expects the transactions will be accretive by the end of fiscal 2016.

Jeffrey M. Armstrong, the chief executive officer of Perceptron, said, “The acquisitions of Coord3 and Next Metrology illustrate the progress we are making to implement our strategic plan. These transactions expand and diversify our offerings in the industrial metrology market, and particularly in the scanning CMM market, which is estimated to be growing at a 15 percent annual rate.

“According to Frost & Sullivan, global CMM sales are estimated to exceed $1.8 billion in 2015, with automotive CMM sales at approximately $625 million and aerospace CMM sales at approximately $350 million,” he continued. “By offering a compelling solution in this marketplace, we believe we can help expand the overall market while increasing our share of the total. Coord3 is a leading, innovative supplier of a full range of CMMs with a growing global customer base. Notably, it is one of only two companies in the world able to design and manufacture gantry-style CMMs used to measure very large equipment such as aircraft wings, complete car bodies and railcar frames.

“By combining the full range of Coord3’s CMMs with Perceptron’s laser scanners and Next Metrology easy-to-use TouchDMIS™ CMM operating software,” noted Armstrong, “Perceptron moves into a market leadership position, able to offer price-competitive, fully integrated CMM solutions worldwide. Our resources will significantly expand the geographic reach of Coord3, as well as providing direct access for their CMMs to our extensive automotive customer base, a market where Coord3 currently does not have significant sales.

“Importantly, being able to sell CMMs in the automotive sector expands our addressable market to approximately 70 percent of the total that the automotive industry spends on metrology solutions,” added Armstrong. “The industry-leading solutions of Perceptron’s current In-Line Measurement business addresses only about 10 percent of the automotive metrology market.”

Angelo Muscarella, the president of Coord3 Industries, will continue as managing director of Perceptron’s CMM business, which will be operated under the Coord3 name through wholly owned subsidiaries of Perceptron. Muscarella also will serve as Perceptron’s country manager for Italy.

Perceptron develops, produces, and sells non-contact 3D machine vision solutions for measurement, inspection, and robot guidance in industrial applications. Manufacturing companies throughout the world rely on Perceptron’s hardware and software solutions to help them manage their complex manufacturing processes to improve quality, shorten product launch times and reduce costs.

The company also offers value added services such as training and customer support services. Headquartered in Plymouth, Perceptron has approximately 250 employees worldwide, with operations in the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, China, and India.

www.perceptron.com