Jan 26 2010
AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE: AME) announced it has acquired the assets of Sterling Ultra Precision, a privately held reseller of machine tools for the ophthalmic lens market. Sterling Ultra Precision is headquartered in Tampa, FL.
"The acquisition of Sterling Ultra Precision provides us with an attractive opportunity to further broaden our capabilities and position in the niche ophthalmic lens market," comments Frank S. Hermance, AMETEK Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Sterling currently bundles AMETEK's Precitech Optoform machine tools with proprietary software and specialty fixtures that are used in the design and manufacture of contact lenses, contact lens molds and intraocular lenses."
"Our Precitech business has a long-standing relationship with Sterling, which enjoys strong brand recognition, large customer base and excellent market share in the ophthalmic lens market. By acquiring Sterling, we gain direct access to a highly profitable niche market that has excellent growth opportunities worldwide," adds Mr. Hermance.
Acquired in 2006, AMETEK's Precitech business is a leader in ultra-precision machining systems for applications requiring nano-metric levels of accuracy. Its Optoform machine tool systems are designed specifically for the high-speed lathing of spherical, multi-curve or aspheric contact and intraocular lenses.
Precitech is a unit of AMETEK Ultra Precision Technologies, which also includes AMETEK's Taylor Hobson and Solartron Metrology businesses, which provide high-end metrology instruments used in a wide variety of ultra-precise manufacturing and nanotechnology applications.