Test equipment manufacturer Aeco Germany GmbH (Aichach, Germany), which filed for bankruptcy on September 27, has been taken over by the newly founded Dr. Schwab Inspection Technology. Dr. Schwab has taken over all existing assets, core activities and service liabilities of Aeco Germany, and will remain based in Aichach, Germany, near Munich. "We have restructured the company in Germany in a way that’s more efficient and more reactive to the market," said Ulli Fischer, director of sales and marketing, Dr. Schwab. The founding directors are two former Aeco employees, Dr. Leonhard Schwab and Johann Ostermayer. Schwab, formerly of Dr. Schenk before joining Aeco this past summer, will serve as director of research and development, and Ostermayer will become managing director. Other employees will transfer from Aeco Germany, forming a core group of around 25.

Many production issues will now be outsourced to some of the main suppliers. "Inspection of the systems, quality control, will still be done in-house, but all of the production issues, they are outsourced now," said Fischer.

Two products that Dr. Schwab will focus on bringing to the market are the DOMSxe-blu, a physical inspection system for mastering, and a new inline scanner. Both are based on blue lasers and will be available early next year.

Dr. Schwab will take over the support of Aeco Germany’s existing installed base, and warranties will be also be covered by Dr. Schwab.