Acquisition of U.S. company Cameron's process analytical product line

HORIBA acquires Cameron's process analytical product line, demonstrating a commitment to building the future core business for our Process & Environmental Segment operations. This development plays a key role in our longer term strategy and proactively addresses the rapidly evolving demands in the energy sector that are largely driven by shale gas and oil.

In response to growth in the petrochemical processing industry driven by the rapid expansion of shale gas production and a generally healthy energy economy, HORIBA has acquired the process analytical product line from Cameron, a Houston, Texas based U.S. corporation. Cameron's primary business focuses on products, systems, and services addressing the needs of drilling, fluid transportation, oil and gas production, refining, and other petroleum market segments. Their process analytical product line focused on integrating systems(*1) and providing service to support downstream petroleum production processes. Through this acquisition, HORIBA aims to enter the process analytical business, and takes a major step to expand our future core business. Synergies will be realized by incorporating the newly acquired process know-how into our existing technologies, adapting and interfacing our products(*2) to the unique sample handling requirements demanded by the refining and chemical markets, and leveraging our extensive sales and support network. As a result, we are targeting a six-fold growth in combined sales for our Process and Environmental segment by 2018.

Outline of business operations by Cameron

HORIBA concluded a contract last month to purchase the process analytical product line from Cameron, a U.S. manufacturer of equipment used in the drilling, production and transportation of oil and gas.  The product line includes technology for the measurement of liquids and gases used in the process of refining, dissolving and processing petrochemical products. The business process of the petrochemical industry is divided into drilling, liquefaction and separation, transportation, stockpiling, refining, dissolution and processing. The business HORIBA is launching involves the provision of liquid- and gas-measurement facilities used in the process of transforming crude oil into industrial-use materials while chemical reaction occurs and heat is generated. We will establish a system in which not only our analytical instruments, but also various measurement instruments are provided systematically and integrally. By this means, we will try to enhance our competitiveness in the environmental and process equipment business by making the United States, a booming location for shale gas, a primary operation base. Our new business will be launched after we take part in an April 14-15 symposium sponsored by ISA.(*3)       

Achievements in measurement systems used in production processes and growth strategy for new business

HORIBA's Process & Environmental systems businesses include products that address environmental regulations, such as mainstay stack gas analyzers and air pollution-monitoring systems. Gas analyzers used in production processes of various industries are items whose development and production commenced when our company was founded. Emission gas analyzers, designed to detect potential risks of gas-triggered explosions, are mainly used at facilities where potentially explosive gasses are present, such as oil-refining facilities and petrochemical plants. Our company commands a 70% share of Japanese explosion-preventive gas analyzer market. Our gas analyzer technologies will be combined with know-how, facilities and human resources Cameron has accumulated, producing synergy effects and contributing to our efforts to exploit the measurement system market. These facilities and relevant maintenance services will be provided in a package under the new business. By taking advantage of marketing and service networks Cameron has built in its relations with its customers, we will establish a marketing system in which prompt response to customer needs is possible. The latest transaction is expected to encourage us to expand our contact points with potential customers, as equipment investment in measurement systems is expected to rise in view of the shale gas boom in the United States. Under these circumstances, we also aim to expand sales of analyzers, including mainstay stack gas analyzers. In 2018 - five years from now - we expect to achieve 6 billion yen in combined sales of Process & Environmental systems segment in the United States, a sixfold increase from the level seen last year.

Outline of Cameron 

Outline of our environment and process equipment business in U.S.A.

Terminology

(*1) Integrating systems
Facilities integrating various gas and liquid measurement devices with systems used for taking chemical materials from production lines, equipped with data-processing systems and uninterruptible power supply systems. 

(*2)HORIBA's existing expertise in environmental systems
Explosion-preventive gas analyzer series; commands 70% share of Japanese such gas analyzer market.
Gas analyzers used in production processes to detect potential risk of gas-triggered explosions through continuous measurement of gas density of 30 components, such as oxygen, nitrogen and carbon monoxide - mainly used in facilities where potentially explosive gases are present, such as oil-refining facilities and chemical plants.

(*3) ISA
Symposium held every year in the U.S., with some 200 companies and organizations participating - oil refining companies, petrochemical firms and analyzer makers, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.