Fluke Networks getting bigger

By MIKE BENBOW

Herald Writer

EVERETT — Fluke Networks Inc. will buy the NetMetrix division of Agilent Technologies Inc. for an undisclosed amount of stock and cash, the companies announced Thursday.

Fluke Networks, which has an estimated annual revenue of $100 million and a payroll of 300 people, will grow substantially with the acquisition.

NetMetrix employs 100 people and has about $25 million in annual revenues.

Julie Kuntz, a Fluke Networks spokeswoman, said the deal strengthens her company’s position in the fast-growing computer network field.

"We wanted to grow and expand and to broaden our product basket," she said.

NetMetrix is best known for its RMON probes, which are installed into a network to help discover problems and solve them.

Fluke Networks is better known for its hand-held analyzers and troubleshooting equipment.

"We’ll have fixed solutions instead of just portable," Kuntz said.

Fluke Networks is a spinoff of Fluke Corp. of Everett, becoming its own entity in May of this year. It still shares office space with Fluke.

Kuntz said the fledgling company is growing rapidly, by 50 to 60 percent each quarter.

Under the terms of the agreement, Fluke Networks will acquire the assets of the NetMetrix division, including managers and employees, key technologies, intellectual property and products.

The division, which is part of Agilent’s Communications Solutions Group, has more than 100 employees, located mainly in Santa Clara, Calif. and Colorado Springs, Colo., with field and support persons located throughout the United States and in 15 countries.

"A neat thing for us is to have not only their product, but their people," Kuntz said. "We’re as excited about the people as the product line."

She said the company will keep the California and Colorado offices.

"It looks like it will be a fact of life that we’ll have these remote offices," she said.