Omega Engineering
{{Short description|American control sensors company, founded 1962}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| name = OMEGA Engineering, Inc.
| logo = Omega Engineering Logo.png
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| industry = Instrumentation
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| foundation = Stamford, Connecticut in 1962
| founder = Betty Hollander
| defunct =
| location_city = Norwalk, Connecticut
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| key_people = Naoto Mizuta, CEO
| products = thermocouples
flow meters
pH meters
electric heaters
data collection
automation devices
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| revenue = $168 million (2010)
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| num_employees = 700
| parent = Arcline Investment Management
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| location_country = United States
| homepage = {{URL|omega.com}}
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OMEGA Engineering is an American instrumentation company headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut,https://www.concord-sots.ct.gov/CONCORD/online?sn=PublicInquiry&eid=9740 {{Dead link|date=August 2022}} with its main factory in Swedesboro, New Jersey.{{cite web|title=OMEGA Engineering Global Contacts|url=http://www.omega.com/worldwide/|website=omega.com|publisher=OMEGA Engineering|accessdate=13 September 2014}}
It has sales offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, China, Brazil, Singapore, Korea, Japan, and Mexico. Local websites are also available for customers in France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, India, and Chile. OMEGA does business with the United States Navy, NASA and other industrial corporations.{{cite web|last1=Gaudin|first1=Sharon|title=Case Study of Insider Sabotage: The Tim Lloyd/OMEGA Case|url=http://www.craigchamberlain.com/library/insider/Case%20Study%20of%20Insider%20Sabotage.pdf|website=craigchamberlain.com|publisher=Craig Chamberlain Security Do-er|accessdate=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084419/http://www.craigchamberlain.com/library/insider/Case%20Study%20of%20Insider%20Sabotage.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
History
The company was founded in 1962 by Betty Hollander at her kitchen table while she was raising four children.{{cite web |first=Sen. Joseph I. |last=Lieberman |author-link=Joe Lieberman |title=Remembering Betty Hollander |publisher=Sunlight Foundation |date=2011-05-02 |url=https://capitolwords.org/date/2011/05/02/S2577-3_remembering-betty-hollander/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914052537/https://capitolwords.org/date/2011/05/02/S2577-3_remembering-betty-hollander/ |archive-date=2014-09-14 |url-status=usurped}}{{Cite news |author= |title=Betty Ruth Hollander |work=Stamford Advocate |department=Obituaries |date=2011-04-09 |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/stamfordadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=betty-ruth-hollander&pid=150114577 |access-date=2025-05-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115132810/http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/stamfordadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=betty-ruth-hollander&pid=150114577 |archive-date=2016-11-15 |url-status=dead}} OMEGA began as a thermocouple manufacturer but slowly transitioned to other types of instrumentation. {{As of|2014}}, OMEGA manufactures and sells devices that measure everything from temperature to pH.{{cite web|title=OMEGA Website Homepage|url=http://www.omega.com/|website=omega.com|publisher=Omega Engineering|accessdate=14 September 2014}} In 2016, as the company moved their headquarters to Norwalk, Connecticut, President Joe Vorih publicly stated that Omega would be "moving from being a traditional industrial sensor company to a wireless technology company.”{{cite news |last=Soule |first=Alexander |date=2016-11-16 |title=Company makes official Norwalk HQ bringing 120 jobs. |url=https://www.thehour.com/business/article/Company-makes-official-Norwalk-HQ-bringing-120-10618723.php |work=The Norwalk Hour. |access-date=2024-09-21}}
=Hacking=
In 1996, Tim Lloyd, an 11-year employee of OMEGA and a network administrator within the company, was fired. Three weeks after he was fired,{{cite news |last1=Gaudin |first1=Sharon |title=The Omega files: A true story |url=http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/27/omega.files.idg/ |accessdate=October 2, 2018 |publisher=CNN |date=June 27, 2000}} he unleashed a hacking "time bomb" within OMEGA's computer systems, deleting the software that ran all of OMEGA's manufacturing operations at its factory in Bridgeport, New Jersey.{{cite web|title=Notable Hacks|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/whoare/notable.html|website=pbs.org|publisher=Public Broadcasting Station|accessdate=13 September 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Strunsky|first1=Steve|title=Prison Sentence in Computer Case|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/27/nyregion/metro-briefing-new-jersey-newark-prison-sentence-in-computer-case.html|accessdate=13 September 2014|publisher=New York Times Company}} Law enforcement was contacted by Omega executives during the second week of the incident and the U.S. Secret Service found suspicious activity early on, including deliberate data erasure and reformatting of critical files. OMEGA spent nearly $2 million repairing the programs and lost nearly $10 million in revenue, resulting in 80 employee layoffs, though Lloyd's lawyer stated that OMEGA's losses were far smaller. Tim Lloyd was convicted of computer sabotage and was sentenced to 41 months in Federal prison. The Tim Lloyd hacking case is considered one of the largest employee sabotage cases in United States business history. The case also aired in a Forensic Files episode "Hack Attack", episode 39 of season 8.
Sale to Spectris
In April 2011, Betty Hollander died, and the company was turned over to her husband Milton Hollander. Later that year, he sold OMEGA Engineering{{snd}}which had recorded revenue of {{US$|168|link=yes}}{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|168|2010|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) the prior year{{cite news|last1=Ebrahami|first1=Helia|title=Spectris buys US rival for $475m|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/8702537/Spectris-buys-US-rival-for-475m.html|accessdate=13 September 2014|publisher=The Telegraph|date=16 August 2011}}{{snd}}to British-based Spectris plc for $475{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|475|2011|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).{{cite news|last1=Sen|first1=Anirban|title=UPDATE 1-Spectris Buys OMEGA Engineering for $475 mln|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/spectris-idUSL3E7JF0PD20110815|accessdate=13 September 2014|publisher=Reuters|date=15 August 2011}} Then, in March 2017, Spectris was forced to recognize an impairment charge of {{GBP|115|link=yes}}{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to £{{Inflation|UK-GDP|115|2017|fmt=c|r=0}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|UK-GDP}}) with relation to the past acquisition. This charge decreased goodwill and other intangible assets on Spectris' balance sheet. The charge also decreased its 2016 net income.{{cite news|last1=Baba|first1=Razak Musah|title=Spectris 2016 profit falls; but hikes dividend|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/spectris-2016-profit-falls-but-hikes-dividend-2017-02-14|accessdate=January 3, 2018|publisher=MarketWatch|date=February 14, 2017}}
Sale to Arcline
On April 19, 2022, Spectris announced the sale of Omega Engineering to US-based Arcline Investment Management for {{US$|525|link=yes}}{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|525|2011|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).{{cite news |date=2022-04-19 |title=Arcline Investment Management to Acquire Omega Engineering from Spectris PLC. |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arcline-investment-management-to-acquire-omega-engineering-from-spectris-plc-301527692.html |work=PR Newswire (Cision). |access-date=2023-09-08}} This was more than $100{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|100|2022|r=0}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) above the Net Book Value subsequent to the goodwill writeoff that Spectris previously took.{{cite web | url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/spectris-sells-omega-engineering-for-525-mln-plans-390-mln-share-buyback-271650349921 | title=Spectris Sells Omega Engineering for $525 MLN; Plans $390 MLN Share Buyback }} Omega Engineering was merged into the Arcline's Dwyer Group, renamed DwyerOmega.
References
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External links
- http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/002409.txt US v Lloyd, 3rd Circuit, appeal overturning new trial order and reinstating trial verdict.
Category:1962 establishments in Connecticut
Category:American companies established in 1962