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Friday, January 11, 2008 |
I've been using the same feed reader for my blog and news feeds for four years. I didn't switch to Google Reader like so many did because I don't trust Google (ever hear them say "do no evil" any more?). So I just read in Lifehacker that NewsGater has made two desktop feed readers available for free. So, I'm trying out NetNewsWire (I'm on a Mac, after all). For PCs, check out FeedDemon. I just loaded all my feeds into it. First impression is -- I like it. We'll see how it goes after I test a bunch of features.
5:23:46 PM 
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I've curious about what's happening in the database world. I haven't done any database programming since at least George the First's time (other than Excel stuff), but I've read little snippets of comments about new technologies and ideas. So, I often ask CTOs about the question. Perhaps something will show up in Automation World someday. In the meantime, I read the Database Blog. It'll stretch your mind.
5:15:18 PM
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I've been trying to puzzle out what's happening in the industrial robot market. While there's a ton of interest in all kinds of robots, the industrial area doesn't seem too robust. The companies spend so little money on promotion that the industry magazine closed for lack of advertising support. I've even had trouble getting good stories (read free publicity) from most of the robotic companies. Definitely, the market as it stands now is quite mature. It must also have slipped into a sort of oligopoly where no new entrant can shake things up enough to threaten the entrenched companies. These are kind of thoughts at random. If someone has some knowledge of the issue, comments are open (I will delete self-serving promotion, though).
There must be some money being made in the market, though. Adept Technology was in dire straights only a few years ago, and now it has gotten strong enough financially to make an acquisition. Notice, though, that this acquisition fits the same mold as the process industry news I just posted-it's all about solutions. Very interesting terms, too.
Adept has acquired Cerebellum Automation SAS, a provider of specialized OEM robotics and motion control solutions for the medical and packaging industries. Privately held Cerebellum Automation is located in Chavanod, France, near Geneva Switzerland and close to key industrial centers in France, Switzerland and Italy.
Adept has agreed to purchase all outstanding shares of Cerebellum for a total purchase price of up to $1.2 million. Payment will be made in the form of cash and shares paid over a two-year period. To date, an initial cash payment of $350,000 has been made. In January 2008, Adept will make an additional payment of $65,000 in cash to be held in escrow for one year and released on the first anniversary of the acquisition, at which time there will also be a contingent payment of up to $335,000 in Adept common stock, if certain employee retention provisions are met. A final payment of $65,000 in cash will be made two years from the date of acquisition, as well as a contingent payment of up to $385,000 in Adept common stock, provided certain employee retention provisions are met. Additionally, Cerebellum's principle executives, who are founders of the acquired company, are eligible to receive bonus payments of up to â[not equal]¬312,000 based on the sales performance of certain Cerebellum products over the next two years.
"The acquisition of Cerebellum Automation is both complementary and additive to Adept, augmenting our capabilities in key vertical and geographic markets," said Robert Bucher, chief executive officer of Adept. "Cerebellum complements our strong position in Germany and gives us a greatly expanded footprint in the French automation market, which is the third largest in Europe. Their expert staff also brings proven experience in developing automation solutions for the medical and packaging markets, which we will leverage worldwide."
Adept plans to rapidly integrate Cerebellum's ten employees into its French office, and anticipates the resulting incremental operating costs will be approximately $230,000 per quarter. The Company expects the acquisition will be immediately accretive to revenue and anticipates continued growth in Cerebellum product sales. Adept further expects the acquisition will be accretive to operations and cash flow within two years.
Sal Spada, ARC Advisory Group, commented, "Cerebellum Automation has effectively solved one of the most significant business issues in motion centric automation. Inevitably every motion control supplier hits the glass ceiling in their business due to the application intensive nature of the business. That is, to grow the business you need to add more skilled application engineers. Cerebellum Automation, along with their innovative software development tools has created the foundations of a scalable business model that fills the engineering void in motion control market that many machine builders experience. With this acquisition, Adept has established the basis of a team that has deep application knowledge as well as the business skills to productize it. "
4:54:26 PM
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© Copyright 2008 Gary Mintchell.
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