Level acquisition extends instrumental range

Citation

(2002), "Level acquisition extends instrumental range", Sensor Review, Vol. 22 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2002.08722dab.004

Level acquisition extends instrumental range

Level acquisition extends instrumental range

Series 80181 purchase from ABB breathes new life into long-established products

Keyword: Level detection

Northamptonshire-based Lee-Dickens has acquired two families of conductivity and capacitance level probes from ABB Automation Ltd (see Plate 2).

Series 80 and Series 81 families originated with the Fielden company in 1978 and are used in applications ranging from solids handling to process control and from bore holes to tank farms. The two ranges were acquired by ABB Automation via the Foster’Cambridge and Kent companies. Lee-Dickens has purchased all stock, goodwill and current order books. Manufacturing and test facilities have been transferred to Lee-Dickens' Desborough site.

Plate 2 Cheers! Gyles Dickens, sales and marketing Director of Lee-Dickens, with the new range of Series 80/81 level probes and switches, which have been acquired from ABB Automation and are now being manufactured by Lee-Dickens

Existing orders are now being met from Desborough and new orders are already being accepted, so there will be no interruption to business, says Gyles Dickens, sales and marketing director of Lee-Dickens. "We are pleased to have acquired these ranges because they add significantly to our portfolio and are a perfect complement to our other process products, which cover temperature, pressure and load instrumentation, as well as signal conditioning. Series 80/81 are both well known in many industries for their dependability, robustness and cost-effectiveness. They offer considerable customisation potential in terms of materials, lengths, sizes, etc., and we believe we are in an ideal position to support and grow that kind of market. We anticipate that the acquisition will add considerably to our turnover and secure further UK manufacturing jobs."

Lee-Dickens will support all existing customers and are now actively promoting both ranges. ABB is providing background support for Lee-Dickens during the transition period.

New investment is promised to enhance the performance and capability of many models. "Customers can be assured we will support continued production and indeed investment in the Series 80/81 technologies," said Dickens. "We are also planning some developments that should provide increased benefits for users and stimulate new applications. 'Smart' interfaces are top of this list."

Series 80 is capacitance-based level technology. The familiar Tektor range of switches and the Telstor range of transmitters are available in rod, rope, brush and flexible forms for applications as diverse as solids level measurement and tank farm level measurements. The conductivity-based Series 81 switches – better known as NoFlote – can be used in a variety of applications ranging from water, sewage and dilute acids in tanks. The NoFlote technology also suits borehole measurements.