Press

AMETEK, Inc. acquires German metrology specialist Luphos GmbH

August 5, 2014

On 30th May 2014, AMETEK, Inc., a publicly traded U.S. company, acquired Luphos GmbH, the German specialist in metrology and measurement technology. With this acquisition, AMETEK and its Taylor Hobson business strengthen their leading position in the field of ultra precise measurement technology.

The precise distance measurement technology developed by Luphos is based on the method of Multi-Wavelength interferometry (MWLI) and allows for the measurements of distances and positions with an accuracy of better than 1nm even from large working distances. Based on this technology Luphos developed measurement platforms specialized for the optics manufacturing industry which allowed for the measurement of complex optical components (e.g. aspheric lenses, diffractive or segmented lenses). Luphos developed additional fields of application for their technology in roundness measurement of axles and bearings and the ultra precise measurement of the position of components.

Luphos GmbH was founded in 2006 by three members of the Institute of Applied Physics at Darmstadt, University of Technology together with a fourth founder, the chair of the Institute Prof. Dr. Theo Tschudi. The development and production of the first systems was funded through only two financing rounds in 2008 by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and 2010 by Wagnisfinanzierungsgesellschaft für Technologieförderung in Rheinland-Pfalz mbH (WFT) from funds of Innovationsfonds Rheinland-Pfalz and S-Innovations-Beteiligungsfinanzierungsgesellschaft Rheinland-Pfalz mbH (S-IFG), both subsidiaries of Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz (ISB), –KfW from funds of ERP-Startfonds and again HTGF. This mostly governmental funding enabled the Luphos team to engineer and build the first measurement systems and acquire their first relevant reference customers and gain entry into the European market.

Andreas Olmes, PhD, who advised Luphos from the sellers’ side during the transaction says: “The acquisition of Luphos GmbH is an excellent example for a 100 % tech-based deal. Realizing this exit shows most impressive that sophisticated hardware founding in Germany is again profitable.“
With the acquisition of Luphos, AMETEK gains access to the cutting edge non-contact metrology technology of Luphos.  Luphos complements the product portfolio of Taylor Hobson in the field of high precision non-contact metrology.

Luphos joins AMETEK as a unit of its Ultra Precision Technology Division within AMETEK’s Electronic Instruments Group (EIG) — a recognized leader in advanced monitoring, testing, calibrating, and display instruments with 2013 sales of $2.0 billion.

About AMETEK
AMETEK is a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electro-mechanical devices with annual sales of $3.6 billion. AMETEK’s Corporate Growth Plan is based on Four Key Strategies: Operational Excellence, Strategic Acquisitions, Global & Market Expansion and New Products.  AMETEK’s objective is double-digit percentage growth in earnings per share over the business cycle and a superior return on total capital.  The common stock of AMETEK is a component of the S&P 500 Index.

About Luphos
Luphos was founded in 2006 and since then became a specialist for the development of ultra high precision optical distance and topology measurement in process and quality control in industry and scientific research. Based on the all fiber based multiwavelength interferometry (MWLI) patented by Luphos, various different distance measurement tasks can be solved with nanometer precision in a non-contact manner.

Contact:
Dr. Jürgen Petter
Business director
Luphos GmbH
Weberstr. 21
D – 55130 Mainz,
Phone: +49 61 31 / 24 05 9 0
petter@luphos.de

Brief profile of the KfW Group’s ERP Start-up Fund
The KfW Group finances and supports business start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and investments in growth and employment in Germany. Through the ERP Start-up Fund, which it manages and co-finances, it especially invests in innovative, technology-based companies with particularly good growth prospects. It finances research and product development activities as well as the market launches of new products, procedures and services. The investments are made to market conditions with the involvement of a lead investor. The ERP Start-up Fund has had a total of around EUR 720 million at its disposal to invest in young tech companies since 2004.

Contact:
KfW Bankengruppe
Geschäftsbereich KfW Mittelstandsbank
MBd ERP-Startfonds / tbg
Peter Schröder
Senior-Investmentmanager Beteiligungen
Ludwig-Erhard-Platz 1
53179 Bonn
Phone: + 49 228 831-7862
Fax: + 49 228 831-7493
peter.schroeder@kfw.de

About Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz (ISB
The Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz (ISB) is the business development agency of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz. Based in Mainz, ISB is responsible for business development and housing finance. ISB is in charge of the promotion of medium-sized businesses and municipalities as well as of implementing the programs of social housing finance.

Contact:
Investitions- und Strukturbank Rheinland-Pfalz (ISB)
Nina Ortmann
Projektmanagerin Venture Capital/ Beteiligungen
Holzhofstraße 4
55116 Mainz
Phone: +49 6131 6172-1288
Fax: 06131 6172-1378
nina.ortmann@isb.rlp.de

About High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF)
High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests in young, high potential high-tech start-ups. The seed financing provided is designed to enable start-ups to take an idea through prototyping and to market launch. Typically, High-Tech Gruenderfonds invests EUR 500,000 in the seed stage, with the potential for up to a total of EUR 2 million per portfolio company in follow-on financing. Investors in this public/private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, the KfW Banking Group, as well as strategic corporate investors including ALTANA, BASF, Bayer, B. Braun, Robert Bosch, CEWE, Daimler, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, Evonik, Lanxess, media + more venture Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, METRO, Qiagen, RWE Innogy, SAP, Tengelmann and Carl Zeiss. High-Tech Gruenderfonds has about EUR 576 million under management in two funds (EUR 272 million HTGF I, EUR 304 million HTGF II).

Contact:
High-Tech Gruenderfonds Management GmbH
Andreas Olmes PhD
Schlegelstraße 2
53113 Bonn
Phone: +49 228 823001-08
Fax: +49 228 823000-50
a.olmes@htgf.de

Press Contact HTGF:
Stefanie Zillikens
Phone: +49 228 823001-07
s.zillikens@htgf.de

 

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