MTL acquires Australian wireless company

London -- MTL Instruments Group plc is paying £12.0 million to acquire Elpro International Pty Ltd, an Australian-based wireless systems supplier. The company was previously owned by Queensland Development Fund and directors of Elpro.

Elpro designs, develops and manufactures wireless interconnect products for the process control, manufacturing and utility markets. The company posted pre-tax profits of £0.5 million on sales of £3.4 million in the year to 30 June 2006.

According to MTL, the acquisition is a complementary fit with its activities in the development and supply of electronic instrumentation and protection equipment for the process control and telecommunications industries. MTL's equipment is mostly used in hazardous environments such as the petrochemical, chemicals and oil and gas production industries, it added.

“Bringing Elpro into MTL will complement MTL's Open Control Components portfolio and add wireless capability to MTL's product range,” said an MTL statement.

“With the addition of Elpro, we can provide interconnect solutions using all major technologies, including traditional analogue, Foundation Fieldbus, Industrial Ethernet, Optical and Wireless,” said Graeme Philp, MTL's chief executive. “This acquisition positions MTL well for continued growth and success in this important area."

MTL is buying three entities: Elpro International Pty Ltd, the holding company, Elpro Technologies Pty Ltd, its Australian-based operating company and Elpro Technologies LLC (USA), a US-based operating entity. The existing management team, it added,have strongly supported the acquisition by MTL and have been retained by the company.