Qubec, January 5th, 2004 R/D Tech Inc. is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Panametrics ultrasonic NDT business from General Electric Company. This transaction includes assets located in the Panametrics facility in Waltham, MA, USA, as well as assets located in sales offices in the United-Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux, and Japan, and involves the transfer of a total of 240 employees globally. The buyer, R/D Tech Instruments Inc, will continue to develop and promote the complete Panametrics ultrasonic NDT product line that includes the EPOCH family of flaw detectors and entire line of thickness gages and transducers, and will continue to sell these products under the Panametrics brand. The headquarters and production facility will remain in the Waltham, Massachusetts area. R/D Tech Inc. C.E.O. Alain Allard said the decision to acquire the ultrasonic NDT business of Panametrics was based on the complementary product portfolios and markets for both companies. The addition of Panametrics NDT personnel and product line to R/D Tech Inc. gives us the broadest ultrasonic product line in the industry from thickness gages to complex systems and an extended global sales distribution network. Established in 1989, R/D Tech Inc. is a company specialized in the development and distribution of NDT (nondestructive testing) instruments and systems. R/D Tech Inc. products are used to inspect mechanical and structural components as well as welds using ultrasonic and electromagnetic technologies. R/D Tech Inc. is a technology leader in Phased Array and Eddy Current arrays for industrial applications. Typical components inspected using R/D Tech Inc. products include pipelines, aircraft structures, power plants, etc. To complement its instruments, R/D Tech Inc. also manufactures a complete line of transducers. R/D Tech Inc. is located in Qubec City, Canada and has offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. R/D Tech Inc. exports its products worldwide. Currently, R/D Tech Inc. employs 500 people, including the 240 employees involved with NDT Division from this new acquisition.

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