Company Announcements Alpha Technologies Services, a Roper Industries company, signed an exclusive distribution agreement with AFA Technologies (Instruments) Shanghai for China, effective October 1, 2006. ADMET entered the Indian market with its universal testing machines, as well as other products, in October 2006. It sells direct and through representatives. In fall 2006, Q-Sense AB, the maker of quartz crystal microbalance technology, acquired Biolin AB, which specializes in products related to advanced coatings technology for SEK600,000 ($82,872) and subsequent payments. Q-Sense also acquired KSV Instruments, a provider of instruments for surface treatment, measurement and characterization. KSV has annual sales of SEK2.9 million ($400,552). In December, Anton Paar Sharpe Tec GmbH acquired MSB Morocutti GmbH, expanding its range of technologies in the field of sheet metal forming. SII NanoTechnology terminated its supply contract with PerkinElmer for thermal analysis systems on December 31, 2006 and launched a new sales and service network for the products. Product Introductions Shimadzu Scientific Instruments introduced the Microservo MMT Series of magnetic micro testing system for small-scale precision materials testing. Shimadzu Scientific Instruments released the USF-2000 ultrasonic fatigue testing system, which is designed to test materials including titanium alloys, duralumin and 1000Mpa grade steel. Instron introduced the ElectroPulsE1000 and E3000 electrodynamic test instruments for both static and dynamic testing. Mettler-Toledo released the fully automated LiQC multiparameter system for the simultaneous analysis of density, refractive index, pH and color. Lloyd Instruments released the NEXYGENPlus software interface for its range of ‘Plus’ and EZ Series materials testing machines. The software acts as the hub of the materials testing system. Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced a new optical RheoScope Module for the HAAKE MARS rheometer platform for simultaneously recording rheological properties and changes in microscopic structure. Zwick introduced the ZHU-topLINE hardness tester, featuring advanced digital zoom optics. Zwick released the “Polar System” robotic-testing system for the tensile, flexure and noticed impact testing of plastics. ADMET launched the Micro EP line of palm-sized universal testing machines for determining the mechanical properties of miniature specimens in tension, compression or flexure. It can be used standalone or installed in an optical or atomic microscope.