Yesterday the management of Hommelwerke GmbH signed a contract with the shareholders of ETAMIC SA for the acquisition of all shares in the French group. The completion of the contract is still subject to the completion of certain conditions and shall take place within the next weeks. It was agreed to maintain silence on the purchase price.

Etamic is based in Bayeux, France, and was founded in 1947. The company focuses on the development, production and distribution of dimensional measurement technology. About 260 employees generated sales of almost 30 million euros in 2005. Among its customers are also the well-known French car manufacturers. In addition to its headquarters in Bayeux the company is represented in Germany, the USA and Great Britain. The Swiss Movomatic also belongs to the group.

The objective of the acquisition is to strengthen and expand the market position of both companies in the field of dimensional production measurement technology. The product programmes complement each other in an almost ideal way. Together with Etamic/Movomatic the Hommelwerke GmbH now covers all currently used technologies (tactile, optical, pneumatic). In addition, Jenoptik is able to provide measuring systems required for the different production processes in the automotive and supply industries - before, in and post production.

While Hommelwerke has its core competencies in tactile and non-contact optical process and final inspection measuring systems, Etamic/Movomatic has its main focus on non-contact pneumatic post-process and tactile in-process measurement technology. Hommelwerke´s typical customer applications such as crankshafts, camshafts, and gear shafts complement the strengths of Etamic/Movomatic in the field of cubic workpieces (cylinder head, cylinder block), connexion rods, and injection components. Through the merger of both companies a globally operating system provider is formed which offers production measurement technology and has own subsidiaries or investment holdings in the most important industrial countries.

The target is to combine all worldwide activities of Hommelwerke and Etamic/Movomatic in the joint group "Hommel-Etamic" in the medium term, which will allow to utilise synergy potentials.

Company portrait of Hommelwerke GmbH (http://www.hommelwerke.com/)

Hommelwerke GmbH specializes in the development, production and distribution of high-precision, non-contact optical measuring technology, and contact measuring technology for dimensional analysis and the analysis of shapes, contours and surface properties. Hommelwerke's customers include leading car manufacturers and automotive industry suppliers. The company, which is based in Villingen-Schwenningen and Jena, Germany, was founded in 1876 and today employs 260 personnel. Hommelwerke GmbH is represented in the key centers for the global automotive and automotive supplier industries with investment holdings and subsidiaries in Asia, North America, and in Europe in France and the Czech Republic. Since May 2000 the company has been a subsidiary of the Jenoptik Group in the Sensors division.