Elcometer Instruments recently acquired the business of Braive Instruments, Belgium and its French company Braive France, a leading manufacturer of physical test equipment to the paint and powder industry.

The companies will, says Elcometer, become part of the Elcometer worldwide business network and will be renamed Elcometer Sprl and Elcometer Sari, respectively.

Braive Instruments manufactures and supplies a wide range of high-quality, affordable inspection equipment for the testing of the physical properties of both paint and powder formulations.

The company's range of products includes viscosity cups; wet film thickness gauges, wet film applicators and filmographs; bend testers; drying time recorders; washability testers; and corrosion and humidity cabinets. Braive was founded in 1948 and is represented in more than 50 countries.

''Braive Instruments' modern manufacturing facility in Liege, Belgium, enables Elcometer to expand its production capability substantially, making Elcometer perhaps the only company in its field to truly manufacture and supply a complete range of testing and inspection equipment to the coatings industry,'' says Ian Sellars, managing director of Elcometer.

''Its extensive product range and sales personnel will enhance the Elcometer corporate philosophy of providing a complete coatings inspection solution of high- quality products at affordable prices. We welcome them into the Elcometer family,'' he adds.

Michael Sellars, director and sales manager of Elcometer, states, ''The additional product range, together with Braive's sales offices in Belgium and France and the additional distribution channels will allow Elcometer to offer a higher level of service and support to its customers around the world. Elcometer will effectively become the primary source for customers needing coating inspection equipment.

''The Braive products for physical testing of coatings fills a need within the Elcometer range that our customers worldwide have, for some time, expressed a demand for,'' remarks John Fletcher, technical support manager, Elcometer.

''Over recent years changes to paint formulations, driven by environmental considerations, mean that the requirement to test coating materials has increased. With the inclusion of the Braive product range, Elcometer will be able to continue to serve this need and further develop its range of products.''

Elcometer has, for 55 years, developed a complete range of coating inspection equipment for the quality control of surface coatings which include an extensive range of coating thickness gauges, adhesion and porosity testers.