SALT LAKE CITY — Oct. 27, 2008 — Utah Scientific today announced it has acquired Sandar, an important European manufacturer and distributor of routing switchers whose marketing reach in Northern and Eastern Europe and in Asia neatly complements Utah's historical strength in the Americas. Sandar, like Utah Scientific, has been a renowned name in the broadcast industry for 30 years, and its products are widely used by many of the top broadcasters and telecom operators in Europe and Asia. The new company will be known as Utah Sandar.
"Historically, both Sandar and Utah Scientific are known for the knowledge, competence, experience, and single-minded focus that they bring to the manufacturing of routing switchers," said Carmelo Catalano, chairman of the board of Utah Scientific. "Beyond the synergy of their markets and product lines, the reputations the two companies enjoy make them a natural fit."
While Sandar primarily makes small routers, from 3x3 to 32x32 in size, Utah's product line is focused on larger routers up to 1152x1152 in size. As a result, the combined product line of the two companies will enable customers to take advantage of one-stop shopping with all the benefits of Utah Scientific's famous customer service, 10-year warranty, and support. Sandar has recently developed a new family of affordable, compact routers that are fully compatible with the routing systems manufactured by Utah — using the same control systems.
"What I'm most excited about are the benefits that this merger of great companies will bring to our customers," said Tom Harmon, president and CEO of Utah Scientific. "Both Utah Scientific and Utah Sandar take pride in service and responsiveness, and the combination will enable us to offer readily available, regionally based (North European) product support and training to broadcasters all over the world."
Headquartered in Sandefjord, Norway, Utah Sandar will continue to sell and service the well-established Sandar family of routing switchers, as well as the full line of Utah products. The managing director of Utah Sandar is Roar Ostby, who commented, "Besides enabling us to introduce our products to the U.S. market, the acquisition of Sandar by Utah has infused us with renewed energy. We are very enthusiastic about the opportunity to join forces with such a strong market leader as Utah Scientific."
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About Sandar
Sandar was formed with the business concept to develop, sell, and service the well-known Sandar range of routing and distribution products. With a history more than 30 years old, Sandar routers have for several decades been recognized as high-quality, state-of-the-art products and have been installed in all major broadcast stations all over Europe. In recent years the Sandar name has also become well-known over large parts of Central and East Asia. Additional information about the company can be found at www.sandar.no. Utah Sandar AS – Thorøyaveien 11 – N-3209 Sandefjord – Tel.:0047 33.52.27.00 Fax: 0047 33.52.27.01.
About Utah Scientific, Inc.
Utah Scientific, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of analog, digital, and HDTV routing switchers, master control switchers, and related products including a full range of software for controlling and managing switching systems. The company has been serving the broadcast industry for 30 years with industry-leading products and best-in-class service and support as recognized by Frost & Sullivan with its 2005 Customer Service Leadership Award and demonstrated by the industry's first 10-year warranty. Additional information about the company can be found at www.utahscientific.com.
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