Endress+Hauser is expanding its quality measurement portfolio through the acquisition of IMKO Micromodultechnik, a manufacturer of moisture measurement systems. IMKO’s headquarters will remain in Ettlingen, Germany, and the company’s 19 employees will be retained.

"The area of moisture measurement developed by IMKO further enhances our existing offering for process instrumentation with an additional key quality parameter,” said Andreas Mayr, managing director of Endress+Hauser. "Additionally, the technology that IMKO employs is very similar to technologies we use for level measurement."

The IMKO systems measure moisture with time domain reflectrometry (TDR), a technology based on the time of flight of reflected radar waves. This provides information regarding the dielectric constant of a material which in turn relates directly to the material’s moisture. Its systems are used to measure moisture in buildings and soil, for environmental monitoring and also in process engineering applications for the food & beverage, chemical and life sciences industries.

Endress+Hauser will acquire IMKO effective in October. The companies have agreed to keep the details of the transaction confidential with a search for a new managing director at IMKO is currently underway.