Company Announcements

MTS Systems disclosed in its fiscal 2015 annual report material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting related to risk assessment, information and communications, and monitoring processes with respect to revenue; identification of deliverables contained in multiple element revenue arrangements; and timely closure of revenue projects and release of residual accrued costs. The company is instituting changes.

In February, MTS Systems formally opened its Indian sales and service office in Chennai. The company plans to establish headquarters in Bangalore next year.

In March, MTS Systems expanded its Test Services capabilities at its facility in Berlin, Germany.

Zwick opened a sales and service office in Japan last year and recently renewed its partnership with Tokyo Koki Testing Machine, which will now concentrate on the Japanese steel manufacturer and processor market.

Product Introductions

Buehler introduced in October 2015 the Wilson VH3300 hardness tester, featuring a six-position test head with up to three indenters.

Malvern Instruments released in December 2015 software to support its Morphologi G3-ID system, enabling direct comparison of measured Raman spectra with reference spectra in Bio-Rad Laboratories’ KnowItAll software. A new accessory package includes a thin-path wet cell.

LECO released in December 2015 the AMH55 hardness testing system, which introduces the Cornerstone brand software to LECO’s hardness testing platforms.

ATAGO launched in January the VISCO, a portable system for measuring the viscosity of a fluid.

Spectro Scientific introduced the MicroLab Series all-in-one automated lubricant analysis system, available as the MicroLab 30 and MicroLab 40.

Nanomechanics launched the iMicro Hardness Tester, featuring a turnkey method for measuring standardized Vickers Hardness and Young’s Modulus.

In February, Anton Paar introduced the new SVM 3001 Stabinger Viscometer, a highly precise kinematic viscometer with an integrated measuring cell.

Thermo Fisher Scientific launched the portable HAAKE Viscotester iQ rheometer, designed for measurements under pressure of up to 600 bar.

Reichert Technologies released the entry-level Polar1 polarimeter and the Polar3 polarimeter, with one fixed wavelength with others available on request. Later this year, the Polar2, optimized for pharmaceutical applications and other high-value samples, will be released.

PAC launched in March the Herzog OptiFlash Small Scale flash point tester for 2–4 mL samples.

In March, TA Instruments introduced the ACS-2 Air Chiller System for reliable temperature control as low as -55°C without using liquid nitrogen.