Brown & Sharpe Acquires Meas Inc., Reestablishes Charlotte Precision Center

    NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I.--Oct. 26, 2001--Brown & Sharpe, Inc. has acquired Meas Inc., the Charlotte, North Carolina-based precision measurement applications engineering firm.
    Acquisition of Meas Inc. reestablishes the Brown & Sharpe Precision Center in Charlotte to serve customers in the Southeastern United States.
    "Meas Inc. has one of the strongest applications engineering teams in the US and has a particular expertise with PC-DMIS(TM) measurement and inspection software, Brown & Sharpe's primary software product," said Jack Rosingnal, Brown & Sharpe Vice President Commercial Operations. In addition to applications engineering, the Charlotte facility will offer the same aftermarket services offered at other Precision Centers throughout the world, including contract inspection and part programming, and software training.
    "We are excited about the prospects of being affiliated with Brown & Sharpe," said Mark Hovis, Meas Inc. principal partner. "We look forward to offering customers a wider range of services, all aimed at improving the operation of their coordinate measuring machines."
    The acquisition of Meas Inc. is the first step in the re-establishment of the Brown & Sharpe Charlotte Precision Center. Brown & Sharpe will also add an experienced sales staff and a large service staff. "Because of Charlotte's strategic location and the large number of customers we have in the Southeast US, the reestablishment of that Precision Center is critical to meeting the business objectives of Hexagon A. B.," said Jack Beagley, Brown & Sharpe, Inc. CEO. Hexagon is the Swedish company that owns Brown & Sharpe's worldwide metrology business. He added that another step in achieving those business objectives was the acquisition earlier this year of the remaining shares of stock of Wilcox Associates, Inc., developer of PC-DMIS software.
    Brown & Sharpe is the world's leading manufacturer of coordinate measuring machines and precision measuring instruments. The company operates nine manufacturing plants on three continents and 21 Precision Centers in major world market areas.