RICHMOND, North Yorks., England /BUSINESS WIRE/ -- Peratech Ltd. is pleased to announce it successfully completed the acquisition of the business of Eleksen from Deloittes (appointed as administrator of Eleksen plc and Eleksen Limited).
Eleksen had developed a wide and impressive range of textile fabric sensors used in the manufacture of smart clothing and consumer electronic products, such as the Eleksen Bluetooth Fabric Keyboard. Eleksen's proprietary and patent-protected ElekTex touch-sensitive fabric materials had gained wide acclaim, and their systems for controlling consumer electronic devices, such as the Apple iPod, mobile phones, and PDA's had made them the "industry standard" in intelligent textile controls.
Peratech Ltd. adds the portfolio of Eleksen and ElekTex to its rapidly growing intellectual property base; Peratech acquired the business of another intelligent textile pioneer—SOFTswitch—during the middle of 2006. Peratech's Quantum Tunnelling Composites (QTC) have received wide acclaim from organizations such as NASA, the Department of Trade and Industry, Frost and Sullivan, Saatchi and Saatchi, Time Magazine, BBC Tomorrow's World Technology Awards, and many other industry accolades.
QTC's are electro-active polymeric materials that enable touch to be translated into an electrical reaction, enabling a vast array of devices to incorporate very thin and highly robust sensing of touch and pressure. Already widely used in robotics and defense, Peratech commercialized it's QTC technology at the beginning of 2006 and is currently working with a number of key technology clients who are implementing QTC sensing technology within their own products.
Philip Taysom, Joint CEO of Peratech, commented "We are delighted to have completed this acquisition and are very pleased that we can continue to develop products, services, and technologies in this rapidly expanding market space". Taysom continued, "the sad demise of Eleksen plc took everyone by surprise, and we have worked very hard to ensure there is a smooth transition for customers who had planned products based around Eleksen's ElekTex apparel control products for the 2008 seasons. Manufacturing is being brought back online, and we look forward to fulfilling customer requirements in the immediate future."
Eleksen's ElekTex products for intelligent, or smart, clothing had previously been used by such major brands as O'Neill, ZegnaSport, Marks & Spencer's, City Sports, Belkin, and many others.
David Lussey, CTO and founder of Peratech commented "We're excited about the addition of such a powerful technology and brand to our portfolio. With ElekTex, Peratech becomes the leading technology provider for the smart fabrics market."
Eleksen's award winning Fabric Bluetooth Keyboard product is also now in production and will be further developed over the coming years to add many new features and functions Version 1.5 is now produced and ready to be delivered within weeks.
Peratech has also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Keybo Technology Ltd. to license the Eleksen Bluetooth Keyboard. Both parties aim to complete contracts before the end of January 2008 and further details will be released shortly.
About Peratech
Peratech Ltd. is the inventor and world leader in QTC technology, a new breed of electro-active materials with the ability to sense touch and other energy forms. QTC materials give enormous flexibility in the design, shape, thickness, and style of a switch or pressure sensor and can be made in a range of elastomeric forms, including emulsive coatings (down to thicknesses of 10 microns), bulk silicone or rubber, and textile forms. Peratech pioneered the creation of electronic switches made from textiles as early as 2001. QTC has been recognized through numerous International awards and accolades, including Tomorrow's World Industry Award 2002, Saatchi & Saatchi Innovation Award 2000, and European Electronics Industry Award 2004.
QTC materials have been used by organizations such as NASA, ILC Dover, Shadow Robotics, and numerous government agencies worldwide. Peratech also owns SOFTswitch the pioneering creator of textile switching.
About Eleksen
Eleksen is the world leader in touch-sensitive interactive textiles for electronics interface design. The company's core technology, ElekTex, is a unique electro-conductive fabric touch pad optimized for the creation of flexible, durable, and rugged fabric touch screen interfaces. ElekTex is used in applications ranging from wearable electronic controls for consumer electronics and industrial wear to lightweight, low-power touch interfaces for CE accessories, telematics, military, transportation, and space suits. It replaces the hard touch pads and flexi-circuits that have limited the growth of the wearable electronics markets. Eleksen licenses ElekTex and reference design to manufacturers for use in custom electronics design, and also markets a range of ready-to-integrate solutions for garment, bags, and accessories manufacturers.