Variohm Group buys Phoenix America

The Variohm Group states that the acquisition “provides significant opportunities for both parties: a European marketing platform for Phoenix America and for the five European-based members of the Variohm Group, a USA sales and support channel for its various sensor, measurement and motion control solutions businesses”.

Phoenix America was founded in 2000 after purchasing selected assets from Xolox Inc and its product range now spans several types of rotary encoder and sensor technologies including Hall Effect, GMR, AMR, Magnetoresisitive, and reed switch amongst more. With its expertise centred on the magnetic compounds and magnetic targets as well as the final product design, Variohm says that the range offers specific cost and performance benefits for a wide variety of position feedback and measurement applications including servo motion control, flow sensing, renewable energy systems, textiles and paper processing, robotics and more.

In addition to the non-contacting nature of its magnetic sensor technologies, Phoenix America’s high resolution and high accuracy encoders rely only on the proximity of separate magnet and sensor electronics components - and so do not require bearings or drive shafts as do traditional encoders or other feedback devices. These are fully sealed, encapsulated modular parts which are also said to provide durability advantages over more fragile optical encoder technologies. The designer and manufacturer also supplies other magnetic technology products including proximity sensors, speed sensors, angle sensors, gear tooth sensors, servo motor hall commutation sensors, magnet assemblies as well as a custom design services for specialised magnetic sensor applications. Phoenix America is one of the few magnet manufacturers outside of Asia to be using its own developed compounds, internally designed and manufactured tooling and custom magnetising processes.

Phoenix America become the sixth business in the Variohm Holdings Group of Companies which is part of the LSE-listed discoverIE Group plc (LSE: DSCV). The ISO 9001-2015 designer and manufacturer joins Variohm EuroSensor (sensors and transducers), Herga Technology (switching and sensing solutions), Ixthus Instrumentation (measurement systems), Heason Technology (motion control components and systems) and Positek (linear and rotary voltage displacement sensor technologies).

Variohm Group’s managing director, Graham Pattison, says “Phoenix America is a well-established technology leader in the USA market, providing a real foothold for marketing and supporting the Group’s products in the United States of America, whilst our UK and German sales teams, with their in-depth knowledge of sensors, measurement systems and motion controls are thrilled to have a new and very market-driven product range on board. Scott Mentzer, COO of Phoenix America comments, “The acquisition and the synergy of Group’s product range substantially boosts our offer to existing and new customers in the USA, and with the support of the Variohm Group’s European sales and applications engineering capability, will provide the potential for our future global growth.”