Eden Prairie, MN 1/5/17—MTS Systems, a provider of testing solutions, announced a reorganization of its Test business that will divide the business into two business units: Materials Test Systems, and Vehicles and Structures Test Systems. The Materials Test System unit will consist of solutions manufacturing advanced materials, and will be headed by William Becker, a returning MTS employee. The Vehicles and Structures Test Systems unit will encompass solutions for automotive, aerospace, infrastructure and energy markets, and will be led by Steven Harrison, former president of AAR Airlift Group. Dr. William Bachrach, president of the Test business, retired effective January 13. “With the Materials Test business unit largely comprised of standard product offerings, with accessories tailored to meet specific customer needs, and our Vehicles and Structures business unit comprised of our large, complex ‘custom and engineered-to-order’ projects, we believe this structure will bring enhanced focus for growth and drive increased profitability across the Test business,” stated MTS President and CEO Jeffrey Graves.

MTS is one of the largest providers of physical testing instrumentation. The decision appears designed to better focus different businesses within the Test division. The company recently delayed its fiscal 2016 earnings release due to an internal investigation of its Chinese operations (see IBO 11/30/16).