Hexagon strengthens its distribution in North America

Hexagon has entered into an agreement to acquire the Spatial Systems division of the American company Loyola Enterprises Inc. (www.loyola.com).

Loyola's Spatial Systems division, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading distributor and service provider for surveying equipment in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC. The division also operates its own GPS reference station network RTK-NetTM, providing high-precision differential correction services to a wide range of users and applications.

"The company is an important element in Hexagon's global growth strategy in the core surveying and construction markets. With this acquisition plus the actions we undertook in the preceding years we are continuing to establish a solid foundation for Hexagon's Geosystems business in the region", says Ola Rollén, CEO and President of Hexagon AB.

"What we are particularly excited about is to add Loyola's RTK-Net infrastructure and expertise with our own networks, creating the largest consolidated GPS reference station network in the USA. GPS correction services provided by these networks are becoming increasingly important for a wide variety of positioning applications, for example in surveying and mapping, and guidance and control of construction, farming and mining machinery", continues Ola Rollén. The division had an average annual turnover of 23 MSEK over the past years. Excluding inter-company transactions, this would have added approx. 8 MSEK per annum to Hexagon's sales.

The Spatial Systems division of Loyola will be fully consolidated as of 1 October 2009, and will immediately contribute to Hexagon's earnings.