Weidmüller group has acquired a majority interest in the German industrial networking specialist, Heyfra Electronic. At the same time, the US company, Contemporary Control Systems Inc (CCSI) has acquired the shares that Heyfra previously held in their German joint venture, Contemporary Controls GmbH, turning it into a wholly owned subsidiary.

Weidmüller says that the deal is a key step in its strategy to develop and expand new areas of business, and to optimise its portfolio. Industrial Ethernet, it adds, is a key technology of the future with a global market already worth around €1.4bn. Heyfra`s chief executive Dietmar Franke will lead Weidmüller`s industrial Ethernet division. In 2004, Heyra recorded sales of some €3m, and company employs about 30 people.

Under the deal, CCSI will continue joint technology developments with Heyfra, and advanced technologies will be shared between the companies. Weidmüller`s chief executive Thomas Hagen wants to intensify the r&d co-operation, saying that "it will enable us to tap the tremendous market potential of the Ethernet sector."

CCSI`s president George Thomas says that Weidmüller "has an excellent reputation in the industrial marketplace and can provide additional resources, benefiting our joint development efforts. There is no limit to the technology opportunities with industrial Ethernet."

In 1997, CCSI formed a UK subsidiary, based at the University of Warwick Science Park, to service the European market. In 2002, it set up a subsidiary in China.