Hexagon AB, a leading global provider of information technologies that drive productivity and quality across geospatial and industrial enterprise applications, today announced the acquisition of Q-DAS, an international software company in Statistical Process Control (SPC) solutions for industrial manufacturing.

Software solutions have become a vital part of optimising the manufacturing process. Furthering Hexagon's strategy to expand its software portfolio in this area, the Q-DAS acquisition adds software to support the data management needs of a factory. While people, materials and methods can all lead to fluctuations in machine and process capability, Hexagon's solutions will now provide the means to more accurately observe and evaluate the production process in real time, enabling workers to control and suppress fluctuations as they occur. This helps customers avoid costly mistakes, adhere to global industry standards, and achieve manufacturing efficiencies with high-quality output.

Based in Germany, Q-DAS has offices and partner distribution companies around the world. Already compatible with both Hexagon and third-party solutions, the Q-DAS portfolio is widely used in manufacturing sectors where high production volumes and dimensional quality needs require statistical analysis - like the automotive sector where Q-DAS is the de-facto standard. Hexagon and Q-DAS intend to maintain the company's position in relation to technical partners, keeping Q-DAS platforms open to the numerous systems providers they currently support.

The Q-DAS portfolio will strengthen Hexagon's metrology planning solution, MMS (Metrology Management System), which is designed to provide easy access to measurement data - from any source or supplier - all in one place. The application of statistical procedures will improve measurement accuracy and consistency while also helping to automate the analysis of measurement results - making quality data fully actionable throughout the production process.

"Adding Q-DAS to the Hexagon family has many advantages," said Hexagon President and CEO Ola Rollén. "Not only does it provide the opportunity to increase the value of our MMS solution but also adds growth opportunities for our business, enabling increased market penetration of Q-DAS solutions through our global presence and customer network."

Q-DAS will be fully consolidated when customary regulatory approvals have been obtained. Q-DAS will positively contribute to Hexagon's earnings. The company's turnover for 2014 amounted to approximately 15 MEUR.