THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., 21 June 2008.Teledyne Technologies Inc.'s subsidiary, Teledyne Instruments Inc., has entered into an agreement to acquire assets of Webb Research Corp. Webb Research, in E. Falmouth, Mass., is a leading manufacturer of autonomous underwater gliding vehicles, as well as autonomous profiling drifters and floats. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The closing of the transaction, which is subject to various conditions, is anticipated to occur on or about July 7, 2008.
"Under the Teledyne Marine umbrella, Teledyne currently provides a number of market leading marine electronic subsystems, including acoustic modems, acoustic and inertial navigation systems, acoustic Doppler current profilers and subsea electrical and optical interconnect solutions," says Robert Mehrabian, chairman, president, and chief executive officer. "The acquisition of Webb Research will immediately add autonomous underwater vehicle systems to Teledyne Marine's existing capabilities. Furthermore, proprietary glider systems offer a platform for Teledyne Marine to provide future sensor payloads, for Teledyne Scientific to develop autonomous systems software, and for Teledyne Brown Engineering to provide customers with fully integrated autonomous glider system solutions."
Webb Research's gliders are autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that use changes in buoyancy in conjunction with wings and tail steering to convert vertical motion to horizontal, and propel the system on a programmed route with very low power consumption.
Applications of gliders range from oceanographic research programs to military persistent surveillance systems and mobile nodes for subsea communication networks.
Gliders were first conceived by Douglas Webb, the founder of Webb Research and a former researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
Following the acquisition, Douglas Webb will remain with the business and become Senior Director, Technology for Teledyne Webb Research.
