In order to rapidly expand market access and the product portfolio for its ebeam technology, the Comet Group has signed a purchase agreement with system integrator PCT Engineered Systems LLC, based in Davenport, IA, USA. The move strengthens Comet’s position as a vertically integrated provider of low-energy ebeam technology. The parties agreed not to disclose the value of the transaction.

The acquisition of PCT Engineered Systems provides the Comet Group with direct access to the ebeam end-user market and in one shot also allows the group to expand its ebeam product portfolio. Charles Flükiger, president of X-Ray & ebeam Technologies, says, “Comet will be able to provide a solution for all potential users of low-energy ebeam technology. This is true for ebeam modules for OEMs, entire ebeam systems to end customers, as well as for all the automation required upstream and downstream from the beam.”

“The acquisition of PCT Engineered Systems is an important step in the strategic development of the ebeam business as a third pillar of COMET Group,” says Ronald Fehlmann, CEO of Comet Group. “The acquisition allows us to tap market potential that was previously unavailable to us, enabling us to generate sustainable value for the company, shareholders, clients and employees.”

PCT Engineered Systems was founded in 1986 by Terry Thompson and two other partners. With about 85 employees in North America, the company is now a player in the market for electron beam equipped systems. Comet has been working closely with the firm for the last five years and in 2014, the two companies developed an ebeam-equipped system for the functionalization of polymer films and the curing of inks and coatings. Comet will retain all 85 employees. Terry Thompson will continue to manage PCT Engineered Systems LLC as general manager.

PCT’s BroadBeam line of EB products include a high energy EP Series, which operates at up to 300 kV and is designed to cure and/or crosslink thick substrates at high speeds (like pressure sensitive adhesives); its medium energy LE Series, designed to perform in the 90 kV to 175 kV range and most often built in web widths from 36” to 108”; and its narrow web CE series, a compact, space saving EB system that operates in an accelerating voltage range of 90 to 200kv and can accommodate the processing of a wide variety of materials including webs, flat materials, and the three-dimensional (3-D) EB curing of objects like rigid packaging and cans.