MALVERN, UK - Malvern Instruments Ltd. has acquired Bohlin Instruments Ltd., a supplier of rheology-measurement systems based in Cirencester, UK. Terms were not disclosed. Bohlin Managing Director Richard Hall has joined the Malvern Instruments board and will lead the company's rheology team, Malvern Instruments said. Malvern is s supplier of particle-characterization instruments.

Paul Walker, managing director of Malvern Instruments, said the acquisition would help expand Bohlin's position in the rheology-instrument market worldwide. Bohlin is a manufacturer of rheometers and viscometers.

Richard Hall, Bohlin Instruments managing director, said a "clear overlap is emerging" between Bohlin's rheology applications and Malvern's particle-characterization technologies, particularly in the areas of dispersion technology and colloid science.

Malvern Instruments operates a global sales and service network that includes subsidiary companies in North America and several major European countries and key partnerships in China and Japan. The company is part of the Spectris plc instrumentation and controls company.