Sensitech consolidates
Cox Technologies. The development demonstrates further
consolidation within the food technology sector, and suggests that
food manufacturers are increasingly looking for a one-stop IT
provider.
Sensitech believes that Cox Technologies, which provides temperature and humidity monitoring products and services to the food industry, will allow the group to offer a more complete service to food manufacturers.
"The cold chain monitoring market is expanding rapidly," said Sensitech chairman Eric Schultz. "New technologies and new players require us to continuously invest in R & D and to maintain a competitive edge.
"The acquisition of Cox enables Sensitech to expand into key industrial markets as well as to broaden our current customer base. The consolidation of both organisations' expertise solidifies a stronger presence in this marketplace."
Sensitech offers temperature monitoring products and services with cutting edge information management and sensor technologies. The company is investing heavily in RF and RFID and will bring complete cold chain management solutions to all Cox customers. This is the second acquisition Sensitech has made in the cold chain management space, its first being Ryan Instruments in 2000.
This is perhaps indicative of the way the industry is going. Food manufacturers need to install technology that will allow them to trace every aspect of the supply chain, and are looking at companies that can provide them with one-stop solutions.
"There has been huge amount of investment in the last few years on the technical side of things," said Matthew Holland, MES product manager for Siemens UK. "Siemens for example has made a number of acquisitions, which has helped the company to react quickly. We have bought specialists that mean we can integrate a whole solution. For us this allows us to operate more quickly and it clears up the field."
Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is a concept that describes the overall infrastructure needed to allow a firm to carry out all its tracing and tracking and product specification requirements efficiently and in a co-ordinated manner. The importance of the concept, said Holland, is that it recognises the interconnectness of the food industry. It suggests that closer collaboration between every aspect of the food supply chain is inevitable.
In its arrangement with Sensitech, Cox has agreed to continue manufacturing products during a transition period to end no later than 1 June 2004, although the Cox products will be available beyond the June timeframe. Dr. Jim Cox, founder and chairman of the board, will serve on a consulting basis for two years. Other key personnel from Cox will work for Sensitech as well.
Sensitech is a leading provider of cold-chain information and analysis that enables food manufacturers to protect the freshness, viability and integrity of their temperature-sensitive products.
