Acquisitions and New Products

A number of specific changes have occurred in the past year to impact the flowmeter markets.  Some of these developments are positive and some are negative.  Here is a summary of these developments.

·         Foxboro is upgrading its instrumentation offerings, with a new vortex meter and its new digital Coriolis meter.

·         Yokogawa has introduced a multivariable vortex meter in Japan, but not yet in the United States.

·         Venture Measurement (Aaliant) discontinued development of its ultrasonic, magnetic, and vortex meters.

·         Panametrics introduced a new clamp-on meter for gas flow measurement.

·         Panametrics was acquired by General Electric, and is now called GE Panametrics (July 2002)

·         Emerson Rosemount introduced its new 3051S pressure transmitters, offering new levels of stability and accuracy

·         Badger Meter sold its line of ultrasonic flowmeters to Eastech Flow Controls (now Eastech Badger).

·         Schlumberger spun off most of its measurement division to form Actaris, which has positive displacement and turbine flowmeters (November 2001).

·         Rurhgas Industries, which also owns American Meter in the US and Elster Amco in Europe, bought ABB Water Meter in Ocala, Florida.

·         Spirent sold its Sensing Solutions business to GE Industrial Systems.  The Sensing Solutions business included Thermometrics (thermistors), General Eastern (humidity) and Kaye Instruments (thermal calibration and monitoring) (November 2001)