Garmin Ltd acquired the assets of Nautamatic Marine Systems. Financial terms of the transaction were not released.
Nautamatic's 28 employees have joined Garmin's U.S. subsidiary, Garmin International. They will be based in Nautamatic's plants in Newport, Ore., and Dania Beach, Fla.
Nautamatic Marine Systems, which has operated under the name TR-1 Autopilots, is known for its patented marine autopilot technology that does not require a rudder-angle sensor. These sensors are often the biggest installation and maintenance challenges in other autopilot systems.
Garmin will initially continue to offer the existing TR-1 marine autopilot products and intends to develop new marine autopilot products.
"Nautamatic is known for its technology innovation and the reliability of its autopilots," Dr. Min Kao, Garmin chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
Doug Ford, formerly chief operating officer of Nautamatic, has joined Garmin following the acquisition. He said, "Garmin shares our vision and our focus on innovation, engineering excellence and customer service."
Garmin officials say the acquisition provides the company an opportunity to combine features such as GPS, sonar, radar, XM WX Satellite Weather, 3-D "mariner's eye" topside view or "fish eye" underwater navigation perspective, auto guidance, and an intuitive touch-screen interface for unparalleled situational awareness and ease of use.
Garmin also announced the promotion of John Neyland to senior manager of marine marketing and OEM sales. Neyland has extensive experience in the marine industry, including his recent position as a regional marine sales manager for Garmin. Previously he ran his own business for several years as a marine installer where he gained experience with radars, sounders, autopilots and other products.
Neyland will oversee the integration of the Nautamatic and Garmin sales teams. He will also develop future programs to expand Garmin's presence in the marine OEM and NMEA install-based market.
Through its operating subsidiaries, Cayman Islands-based Garmin Ltd. designs, manufactures, markets, and sells navigation, communication and information devices and applications.
