$3M robotics firm buys tool shop

SARASOTA — RND Automation & Engineering, a $3 million robotics and custom manufacturer, purchased the majority of the assets of Baytool Inc. a Bradenton-based machine shop.

Terms of the deal, announced in a press statement today, weren't released. But RND President Sean Dotson says the acquisition was an opportunity to own most of the company where it has been a client for several years. Baytool, which builds and reworks machines and equipment, is closing its business after more than 20 years, according to the release. “That would put a major strain on us,” Dotson told the Business Review today, “because we would have to find new vendors.”

Dotson instead bought the bulk of Baytool's machinery. It also hired two of its machinists.