Supplier News

Agfa Graphics Acquires Pitman Company

MORTSEL, Belgium—Agfa Graphics has signed an agreement to purchase the assets of the Harold M. Pitman Company, a U.S. supplier of prepress, industrial inkjet, pressroom, and packaging printing products and systems.

The Pitman Company acquisition increases Agfa Graphics' revenue in the U.S. to more than $500 million. The incremental EBIT contribution is expected to be well in line with Agfa Graphics' global 7 percent target. After the closing, Agfa expects further growth of its U.S. top line resulting from the combination of expertise available in both companies. Agfa also expects strong synergies to be delivered from the consolidation of sales forces and the reduction of G&A expenses.

Based in Totowa, New Jersey, the Pitman Company counts 502 employees and 16 locations throughout the United States. The acquisition will enable Agfa Graphics to significantly strengthen its position in the U.S. printing industry. Pitman's large customer base and knowledge of the industry is expected to offer immediate growth opportunities for Agfa Graphics' industrial inkjet and prepress solutions. Agfa Graphics' addressable market will increase substantially, thanks to the addition of numerous product lines to its offering, including flexographic printing plate solutions for the packaging industry, pressroom products, and value added services. Moreover, Agfa Graphics will be able to complement its own developed industrial inkjet offering with the addition of a wide range of media, new inks, and wide format printing systems.

"Pitman's strong distribution network and broad portfolio of products and systems, combined with our leading technology, will provide us with promising growth opportunities in this strategically important region. One glance at Pitman's extensive catalog is enough to understand that we will considerably expand our scope," said Stefaan Vanhooren, Agfa Graphics president. "One of the main drivers behind this decision was the fact that we gain a unique opportunity to significantly grow our inkjet business."

Pitman's Chairman of the Board, Paul (Peter) F. Schmidt, Jr., stated, "Our family built the Pitman Company into an industry-leading graphic solutions provider and for over 50 years we have been strategic partners with Agfa. I feel very confident about this new chapter in the history of the Pitman Company and I know that it is the combined force of Pitman and Agfa that will drive this company to the next level by providing present and future customers a greater value package of goods and services."

HP Indigo Labels 
and Packaging Event

TEL AVIV, Israel—HP Indigo held a week-long VIP Labels & Packaging Event in Israel in June for an audience of about 120 press/analysts and existing and potential customers, primarily from North and South America. Attendees were provided with a series of presentations on HP Indigo, its technology, and global market trends. They also toured HP manufacturing facilities and attended networking and sightseeing tours of Israel.

Included among the presentations were an overview of HP Indigo and its position in the label and packaging markets by Alon Bar-Shany, VP & GM, HP Indigo Division; a discussion of worldwide trends in the label and product decoration markets by Corey Reardon, president/CEO of AWA Alexander Watson Associates; and a rundown of recent customer success stories by Retha Petruzates, L&P marketing manager, HP Indigo, GSB Americas. Also included was a customer user panel with Jay Dollries, president of Innovative Labeling Solutions; Randy Duhaime, general manager of Dion Label Printing; Ed Wiegand, executive VP of Sancoa International; and Steve Smith, owner of Songbird Ventures.

Bar-Shany provided a look at the 17-year development history of the HP Indigo digital press technology, culminating with some recent market data on digital printing in general, and HP Indigo's position in the segment. According to data from Pira International and HP, in 2009, about 30 percent of new narrow-web press installations were digital presses, with HP Indigo getting the lion's share of these. Its HP Indigo WS6000 press introduced in March 2009 is approaching 100 units sold in 25 countries and during the last two years in a recessionary environment, Bar-Shany reported that the number of labels printed on HP Indigo presses increased by 28 percent. In addition, he presented data from Pira International's "The Future of Global Printing to 2013" study that predicts the dollar value of digitally printed labels will increase from a 4 percent share in 2008 to a 27 percent share in 2013, with flexo printing decreasing from 48 to 36 percent during that period.

Bar-Shany closed his presentation with a quote from Benny Landa, founder of Indigo: "Everything that can become digital will become digital. Printing is no exception." pP