By Bill Bregar
SENIOR STAFF REPORTER
Published: July 14, 2014 3:45 pm ET
Updated: July 14, 2014 3:52 pm ET
NDC Infrared Engineering and Beta LaserMike, sister companies that make high-end part measurement and control systems, launched a strategic merger to create a new business unit called NDC Technologies.
NDC and Beta LaserMike are owned by Spectris plc, a supplier of instrumentation and controls based in Egham, England.
NDC Technologies will be based in NDC Infrared Engineering’s headquarters in Irwindale, Calif. A company spokesman said the company will retain the Beta LaserMike brand name and keep the LaserMike manufacturing and marketing operations in Dayton, Ohio.
Both companies have long histories in non-contact measurement systems, used by a wide range of industries, including plastics.
Beta LaserMike traces its origins back to two companies, Beta Instruments and LaserMike. Beta Instruments pioneered measurement and control technologies for the wire and cable industries in the mid-1960s. According to a company history, LaserMike invented the laser-scanning micrometer in the early 1970s, to accurately measure part dimensions. The companies merged in 1997. Today Beta LaserMike offerings include laser, ultrasonic and process control technologies.
NDC Infrared Engineering was formed when Infrared Engineering Ltd. merged with NDC Systems Inc. in 1998. NDC systems include near-infrared, nucleation, optical, X-ray, laser and microwave. Both companies helped spur rapid advances in sensor technology in the 1960s and 1970s.
NDC Technologies has a new logo.
“By combining these rich offerings into a single complete portfolio, we can provide customers with a broad range of gauging systems that meet a diverse scope of application requirements,” said NDC Technologies President Drew Cheshire. | 
