Environnement SA, a major player in instrumentation for the environment, today announces the acquisition of assets of German company Becker Messtechnik, world leader in the continuous sampling and monitoring of dioxins, thus strengthening its leadership in instrumentation for the environment worldwide. Becker Messtechnik has developed machines that enable the continuous sampling of dioxins emitted from chimneys, thus providing a very representative measure of a site. This auto-monitoring market, which is expanding rapidly, is notably being doped by evertighter regulations, as seen in Lombardy for example, where local authorities will institute – from 2008 – the systematic monitoring of dioxins emitted by all local municipal waste incinerators. François Gourdon, Environnement S.A.’s Chairman, says: “The acquisition of Becker Messtechnik, which was moreover one of our suppliers and which we therefore know particularly well, will strengthen our technological expertise in pollutant measuring. This investment of around a million euros will enable us to further add to our range and benefit from a firm presence in Germany in order to circulate our “Emission” products.” This acquisition is perfectly in line with Environnement S.A.’s development strategy criteria, as laid out at the time of the IPO just under a year ago (complementary technologies, new geographical locations and new market share). This acquisition of technology consists in a pure asset purchase: . branch of the business with clients in Germany, Belgium, France, Austria, Portugal, Italy… . brand, patents and certifications in many of the countries in which the AMESA machine has been officially recognised, notably TÜV in Germany and MCERT in the UK, also meeting current European regulations . stocks, work-in-progress inventories and production tools… François Gourdon concludes: “The continuous sampling and monitoring of dioxins, which is carried out on such sites such as incinerators, thermal power plants and steel or chemical plants, is gradually becoming the subject of new regulations that are becoming strategic for European and global industry. This acquisition will immediately allow the recording of synergies between Environnement S.A and Becker. Indeed, we will be presenting these measuring machines from the end of January at the Industrial Analysis trade fair in Paris, and again at a conference at the next international symposium on dioxins and furans in Tokyo in September. This acquisition is a first step in our firm desire to develop and strengthen our leadership position in instrumentation for the environment.”