Illinois Tool Works purchases Quasar International

Illinois Tool Works Inc., a leading designer and producer of highly engineered components, equipment, consumable systems and specialty products for customers around the world, announced the purchase of Quasar International Inc., the inventor of PCRT (Process Compensated Resonant Testing), a revolutionary new NDT (non-destructive test) method. Quasar is located in Albuquerque, N.M. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Quasar will continue to operate as an independent company, which is consistent with the ITW decentralized organization structure. Quasar will be associated with MAGNAFLUX, a division of Illinois Tool Works Inc., a leading worldwide supplier of magnetic particle equipment, dye penetrant inspection equipment, and associated chemical products used for non-destructive testing. Quasar operations in Albuquerque and Detroit will remain essentially unchanged, and existing distribution and customer agreements will not be affected.

Steve Groeninger, general manager of MAGNAFLUX said, "MAGNAFLUX has been a leader in NDT since the company invented magnetic particle inspection 80 years ago. We plan to continue to be a leader in our industry for generations to come and the acquisition of Quasar will play a key role in that strategy. Quasar's PCRT is clearly the future of high-volume NDT and we intend to help them realize their full potential."

Jim Schwarz, Quasar business unit manager, said, "We are delighted to be an ITW company and to be a part of MAGNAFLUX. This acquisition is an endorsement of PCRT as a superior NDT method, and access to MAGNAFLUX infrastructure will allow us to provide better products, service and support to a wider group of customers."

Groeninger and Schwarz indicated that their immediate focus is on four goals.

Maintain Quasar's customer relationships through continuity of Quasar management and staff.

• Continue to advance the Quasar PCRT technology and product development.
• Expand the Quasar manufacturing and service infrastructure to improve product availability and customer support.
• Position Quasar products within the MAGNAFLUX product line so that Quasar's structurally based, high-volume testing capability is complemented by the existing Magnaglo, Zyglo and Spotcheck product lines, enabling customers to choose the best method for their application.

Quasar has delivered more than 100 PCRT systems to manufacturers in North America, Europe and Asia. The systems are primarily used in the automotive industry where they provide superior NDT with significant cost savings, but they are also used in other industries where product quality is a primary concern.