Teledyne Dalsa Inc. has acquired a minority interest in the parent company of Optech Inc., a maker of laser-based survey and digital imaging instrumentation with 285 employees worldwide. Based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, Optech offers stand-alone and fully integrated lidar systems and imaging products used in airborne terrestrial mapping and bathymetry, mobile mapping and laser imaging, as well as space-qualified sensors for orbital operations and planetary exploration. “Optech’s three-dimensional lidar-based imaging systems are complementary to Teledyne’s growing line of x-ray, UV, visible and infrared sensors, cameras and software,” said Robert Mehrabian of Teledyne. “In addition, we were attracted to Optech’s presence in the environmental, energy and marine domains, where Optech’s lidar systems are used for floodplain and coastal zone mapping, servicing power and gas lines, and land and harbor infrastructure planning.” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Teledyne Dalsa Inc. is a subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies Inc. “We are pleased to have Teledyne as a strategic investor in the company,” said Optech President Don Carswell. “Ranging from Teledyne Dalsa’s CCD sensors that we currently use to Teledyne’s presence in the imaging, environmental and marine markets, we see Teledyne contributing to Optech’s growth and profitability.” As part of its investment in Optech, Teledyne received an option to purchase 100 percent of the shares of the company after three years. With the prior acquisition of Dalsa Corp. and the recent investment in Nova Research Inc. (Nova Sensors), Optech represents Teledyne’s third strategic investment in the digital imaging domain in 2011. For more information, visit: www.teledyne.com