Ametek Expands Medical Device Holdings

Ametek Inc., a Berwyn, Pa.-based electronics business, has expanded its medical technology holdings with the purchase of eye care device maker Reichert Technologies Inc. for $150 million.

Headquartered just outside of Buffalo in Depew, N.Y., Reichert makes analytical instruments and diagnostic devices for the eye care market. Ametek purchased the firm from Chicago, Ill.-based private equity firm Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Co. Reichert has estimated annual sales of $55 million.

“The acquisition of Reichert Technologies adds significantly to our position in the medical market, and provides us with another adjacency to grow in this attractive market segment,” said Frank S. Hermance, Ametek’s chairman and CEO.

According to Hermance, Reichert Technologies invented the industry-standard Phoroptor refraction device used in vision correction diagnosis. Reichert also a market leader in tonometry instruments used to measure intra-ocular pressure, which is important for glaucoma screening, he added.

This purchase follows Ametek’s $25 million acquisition of medical-device components company Avicenna Technology Inc. in April, giving it integrated capabilities for the catheter, cardiac and neurostimulation markets, Hermance said.

Reichert Technologies will become part of Ametek’s Electronic Instruments Group

Ametek sells its instruments to the process and analytical, aerospace, power, and industrial markets and had 2010 sales of $1.3 billion.