In Brief
Palomar Technologies Opens European Office
Palomar Technologies Inc. (Vista, CA, USA) has announced the opening of its European office in Erlangen, Germany. A complete engineering, sales, parts, repair, service, training and support facility, Palomar Technologies GmbH will be the European headquarters for the company's complete line of precision bonding equipment and application solutions.
Palomar Technologies designs and manufactures a range of bonding equipment used worldwide for precision interconnect solutions in the medical electronics, telecommunications, computer, defense, and automotive industries.
For more information, contact Palomar Technologies GmbH, AM Weichsgarten 28, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany; phone: +49 9131 615415; fax: +49 9131 615384.
Thompson & Capper Opens New Facility
Thompson & Capper (Runcorn, Cheshire, UK) recently opened a new facility at its Runcorn site to produce the company's line of desiccant tablets. 
The move was made in response to increasing demand from consumers in the medical device industry.
The facility is licensed with the Medicines Control Agency, allowing the company to produce desiccant tablets to the same standards as pharmaceuticals. The company, which is certified to ISO 9002, manufactures molecular sieve desiccant tablets to the medical device and other industries.
For additional information, contact Thompson & Capper Ltd., Hardwick Rd., Astmoor Est., Runcorn, Cheshire CW9 8AD, UK; phone: +44 1928 573734; fax: +44 1928 580694.
Willett Moves European Headquarters
Willett International Ltd., a product identification and systems integration company, has moved its European headquarters to a purpose-built site in Mettmann, Germany, from Corby, Northants, UK. The new office will primarily handle sales and marketing for Europe, while the company's hardware will continue to be produced in Corby and Runcorn in the UK as well as in China, Brazil, and the United States.
Company officials attribute the move to the introduction of the euro: "We want to be in the strongest possible position to take advantage of the single currency and the rapid growth of our European business," explains CEO Robert Willett. "For a UK-owned global organization such as Willett to move its European headquarters to the centre of Europe gives a strong signal to our customers," he adds.
For more information, contact Willett International Ltd., Cronin Rd., Corby, Northants NN18 8AQ, UK; phone: +44 1536 400777; fax: +44 1536 400888.
Barnant Establishes OEM Group
Barnant Co. (Barrington, IL, USA), a major supplier of industrial and lab instruments to the medical industry, has formed an OEM group. The new group will be responsible for all OEM sales of products manufactured by Barnant and its subsidiaries. 
These proprietary products include tubing pumps, vacuum/pressure pumps, mixers, temperature sensors, and dispensers.
With the new group, the company hopes to introduce private labelling, blanket orders with scheduled releases, and competitive pricing structures for its products.
For more information, contact Barnant Co., 28W092 Commercial Ave., Barrington, IL 60010, USA; phone: +1 847 3817050; fax: +1 847 3817053.
Linear Drives Wins Millennium Product Award
Linear Drives Ltd. (Basildon, Essex, UK) has been named a winner of the UK Millennium Product Award in recognition of its range of tubular linear motors. The Millennium Product Awards are presented by the Design Council to UK companies whose products are deemed to represent the best in British industry and innovation at the turn of the century. The Design Council is a registered charity funded by the UK Department of Trade and Industry to advise government and industry bodies on design policy.
Linear Drives supplies single- and multiple-axis solutions to end-users and volume OEMs. The company has an installed base of more than 13,000 units and a growing network of international distributors.
For more information, contact Linear Drives Ltd., Luckyn Ln., Pipps Hill, Basildon, Essex SS14 3BW, UK; phone: +44 1268 287070; fax: +44 1268 293344.
European Irradiators Hold First Annual General Meeting
The newly established European chapter of the Association of International Industrial Irradiators held its first annual general meeting in Heathrow, UK, on 23–24 November 1998. The meeting created a number of working groups, each of which will focus on a particular aspect of radiation processing. These groups are medical sterilization, food irradiation, polymers, environmental applications, dosimetry, and safety. To encourage membership by organizations, companies, and individuals active in fields associated with the development of radiation processing, a new membership category, affiliate member, has been introduced with reduced fees.
For more information, contact acting secretary Roger Langley at Puridec Irradiation Technologies, 6 Chiltern Ct., Asheridge Rd., Chesham, Bucks HP5 2PX, UK; phone: +44 1494 777456; fax: +44 1494 777457; e-mail: roger_langley@reviss.co.uk.
