Bruker buys two, creates new business group

MADISON, Wis.—In mid-November, Bruker AXS Inc. closed on the purchase of two X-ray microanalysis businesses: Berlin-based Roentec AG and the PGT unit of Princeton Gamma-Tech of Rocky Hill, N.J. At the closing, Bruker announced the formation of Bruker AXS Microanalysis Group, a new business unit which will leverage the technology and sales organizations of the two acquired companies in a business and application area that is new to Bruker AXS.

At the heart of both acquisitions were the companies' focus on X-ray microanalysis using the silicon drift detector (SDD) technology which doesn't require the use of liquid nitrogen cooling, unlike traditional electron microscopy. "Both Roentec and PGT were pioneers in SDD technology," says Roger Durst, executive vice president and CTO of Bruker AXS. "We believe this is a technology which can supplant the older cryogenically cooled Si(Li) detectors."

While the purchases prices were not released, Durst estimated the combined annual revenues of the two companies was just more than $10 million. But the company sees much more potential for its new business unit in a market area that it estimates at $160 million annually.

"There was a synergy between the two companies," Durst says. "PGT's sales were strongly concentrated in North America, the U.K. and France, while Roentec concentrated on Eastern Europe and the Far East. This, combined with our strong worldwide presence, should provide us with a significant opportunity for growth."

Achieving critical mass in the market was one reason cited for selling the Roentec business to Bruker. "We see strong technological and distribution synergies between Roentec and Bruker AXS in the microanalysis market," says Thomas Shuelein, former CEO of Roentec and now vice president of microanalysis with Bruker AXS. "Moreover, we believe that Bruker AXS' global distribution capabilities can also enhance the revenue growth for the novel mobile microXRF and TXRF systems that we have pioneered in recent years."

For the near-term, operations of both the Roentec and PGT businesses will remain in Berlin and New Jersey, respectively. Plans call for manufacturing of products from PGT to be shifted to Berlin. As part of this shift in manufacturing, Bruker will also be working to merge features from the Roentec and PGT lines into a single line.

"Both products were very similar, both had silicon drift diode detectors and had similar software packages," says Durst. "But we plan to transfer some of the most attractive features of the PGT product to the Roentec platform."

These changes in the product should be apparent in early 2006, Durst notes, at which time the company will move forward with marketing the products and establishing Bruker AXS as the company looks to establish itself as a liquid-nitrogen-free X-ray microanalysis provider.