Renishaw, the global engineering technologies company, has taken full ownership of Measurement Devices Ltd (MDL), following the purchase of the remaining 34% shareholding for a cash payment of £4.5 million.
The acquisition of the shares concludes an agreement reached in 2010, at which time Renishaw purchased an initial 29% stake in MDL, a UK-based business which designs and manufactures high speed laser measurement and surveying systems for use in extreme environments.
Steve Ball, the founder of MDL, will be leaving the company, whilst Elaine Ball, MDL’s Managing Director, will report to Renishaw through Will Lee, Director and General Manager of Renishaw’s Laser & Calibration Products Division.
Renishaw’s Assistant Chief Executive, Ben Taylor, who is Chairman of the MDL Board, says, “We see significant opportunities in the fields in which MDL operates and we are working hard to develop new measurement products based on our combined experience, to leverage our global sales and marketing networks, and to integrate our in-house design and manufacturing capabilities.”
Commenting on the company becoming a wholly-owned Renishaw subsidiary, MDL’s Managing Director, Elaine Ball says, “We are now entering an exciting new phase in MDL’s 30-year history and with the backing of the Renishaw Group we are very confident of continuing to expand in the global market for laser surveying and scanning measurement products.”
Established in 1983, York-based MDL supplies a range of laser-based, time-of-flight measurement systems used in a wide range of applications worldwide in quarrying, mining, marine positioning, aviation, civil engineering and traffic control. In December 2012, to meet rising demand for its products, the company took occupancy of new additional 20,000 sq ft premises adjacent to its headquarters in York. The new £3 million facility will become the base for MDL’s production, service and R&D departments. The company currently has around 70 staff at York and also has staff located at offices in Scotland, Canada, Australia and the US.