Sunpower Inc., an Athens-based engineering company, has been sold to AMETEK in hopes of growth opportunities for both businesses.
AMETEK, a company founded in 1930 based out of Berwyn, Pa., manufactures electronic instruments and electromechanical devices with annual sales of $3.4 billion, according to its website.
Although AMETEK is based more than nine hours away from Athens, Jim McKinley, AMETEK spokesman, said the company still believes the acquisition of Sunpower Inc. will be beneficial.
AMETEK has about 13,000 colleagues nationally and internationally and typically draws in about seven businesses per year, McKinley said.
AMETEK’s new relationship with Sunpower Inc. is a “great strategic fit (and) a win-win for everybody,” McKinley said.
Officials at AMETEK saw a potential fit with Sunpower Inc. based on its intelligent products.
Sunpower Inc. began after William Beale, a former Ohio University engineering professor, developed the free-piston Stirling engine in 1964.
This led to his founding Sunpower Inc. in 1974, providing free-piston Stirling technology, cryocoolers and more.
A spokesperson from Sunpower Inc. could not be reached for comment.
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