YOU ARE AT:Test and MeasurementWith Thales buy, Keysight becomes Australia's largest calibration and support company

With Thales buy, Keysight becomes Australia’s largest calibration and support company

Keysight acquires Thales Calibration Services

Keysight Technologies has purchased Melbourne-based Thales Calibration Services and says the buy means that Keysight is now the largest calibration and support services organization in Australia.

Keysight said that the Thales commercial calibration facility  is “the largest commercial non-electronic metrology lab in Australia servicing the defense, commercial, medical, petro-chemical, and pharmaceutical industries.” The acquisition positions Keysight to expand its local support for the Australian defense industry.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the purchase was effective July 2, the company said. The Thales purchase continues a string of services-related acquisitions that Keysight has made globally in the last few years. Keysight’s service-related acquisitions have included Primary Standards North America, U.K.-based Electroservices in 2015 and Liberty Calibration in 2017.

At Keysight’s investor day earlier this year, company executives said that it would continue to pursue “tuck-in” acquisitions that meet its standards for returns. Keysight has four primary business segments: communications solutions; electronic industrial solutions; Ixia solutions; and services solutions. Its commercial communications business is its largest source of revenue.

Keysight indicated during its investor day that it is focusing on expanding its test-related services by offering calibration services for brands other than its own, introducing Test Asset Optimization Services and stepping up its refurbished equipment sales. The company also said that it is moving from a free customer support model to one with tiered charging.

“This acquisition complements our existing electrical portfolio, creating new opportunities for Keysight to support the defense sector in Australia,” said Bor-Chun Gooi, general manager for Keysight’s Managed Services Division East, in a statement. “Now, Keysight is the largest calibration provider in Australia, offering customers a one-stop services solution provider.”

ABOUT AUTHOR

Kelly Hill
Kelly Hill
Kelly reports on network test and measurement, as well as the use of big data and analytics. She first covered the wireless industry for RCR Wireless News in 2005, focusing on carriers and mobile virtual network operators, then took a few years’ hiatus and returned to RCR Wireless News to write about heterogeneous networks and network infrastructure. Kelly is an Ohio native with a masters degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley, where she focused on science writing and multimedia. She has written for the San Francisco Chronicle, The Oregonian and The Canton Repository. Follow her on Twitter: @khillrcr