Tectrix Fitness Equipment Sold to Massachusetts Firm

Irvine-based Tectrix Fitness Equipment Inc., which makes computerized stationary bicycles and virtual reality fitness machines, has been purchased by a Massachusetts exercise equipment manufacturing company.

Cybex International Inc. said Friday that it has acquired Tectrix, adding the company’s stair-climbing machines and stationary bikes to Cybex’s weight-training and cardiovascular equipment. Terms were not disclosed.

The pairing of the companies should be ideal, said Tectrix President Mike Benjamin. “There’s a lot of consolidation in the fitness industry,” he said. “By joining with Cybex, we’re able to have a complete line of products for our customers.”

Founded 10 years ago, privately held Tectrix merged in 1994 with Massachusetts-based CyberGear Inc., which developed the VR Bike, a virtual-reality aerobic-fitness machine that lets users pedal through computer-simulated environments.

Tectrix has grown steadily over the past decade, Benjamin said. Its most successful product has been its ClimbMax stair-climbing machine that the company introduced when it was founded, he said.

The company’s Irvine facility, which has about 100 employees, will serve as a showroom and as Cybex’s West Coast center for development, warehousing and distribution, Cybex said. There will be no layoffs.

Tectrix’s name will be changed to Cybex.

Tectrix sells to consumers and commercial markets through 156 dealers. It has sales offices in Britain and Germany.

Last year, the company’s sales surpassed $30 million, said Cybex spokesman Peter Littell. Cybex sales that year were about $93 million.

Cybex stock closed Friday at $10.25, up 25 cents a share, on the American Stock Exchange.