Drew Marine Acquires NAL Research Corporation

Drew Marine, a provider of technical solutions and services for the maritime, defense and aviation industries, announced its acquisition of NAL Research Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of Iridium tracking and communications equipment. The financial terms of the acquisition were not released.
 
NAL Research will team up with ACR Electronics, Inc., a brand of Drew Marine known as a leader in safety and survival technologies. The acquisition allows Drew Marine to expand its footprint into the Iridium tracking and communication product offering.  NAL brings an experienced research and development team that specializes in Iridium satellite modems and tracking terminals from design through integration for the defense, research and commercial sectors.
 
“At Drew Marine, we look for energetic, entrepreneurial brands with technology adjacencies that can grow within our existing portfolio, and that’s what we feel we have in NAL Research,” said Len Gelosa, Drew Marine’s Chief Executive Officer.  “The addition of NAL provides Drew Marine with an engineering and technology leadership position in the satellite tracking, communication and Search and Rescue landscape.”
 
For the past few years, ACR has partnered with NAL Research to incorporate their Iridium SHOUT ts satellite tracker and messaging device, together with the ACR ResQLink Personal Locator Beacon to create the first dual satellite tracking and distress beacon.  The SARLink was born, along with a strong partnership.  That partnership and the mutual respect both companies have for one another is what lead to this agreement.
 
“We are excited to have the expertise and the capabilities ofNAL as part of the ACR team.  NALhas been a pioneer in the Iridium tracking and communication sector,” said Gerry Angeli, President of ACR Electronics. “We see this as a growth market and with NAL’s expertise and new product initiatives; we look forward to working together to support their growth and development.”
 
An Iridium value-added manufacturer and reseller, NAL products focus on asset tracking, search and rescue, remote sensing and command/control of both ground and airborne platforms.  NAL’s president, Dr. Ngoc Hoang said, “This is an exciting time to join ACR and Drew Marine.  Together we can open more doors and bring more products to market by focusing on our core capabilities.”  NAL will continue to operate as usual from its Virginia based headquarters, with Dr. Ngoc Hoang continuing as President.