EskoArtwork has agreed to acquire Mikkelsen Graphic Engineering, Inc. (MGE), the developer of the i-cut vision system finishing solution for cutting tables. MGE also is EskoArtwork's distributor for the Kongsberg i-XL and i-XE digital converting tables into the US sign and display markets. MGE's operations will be organized as a strategic business unit within the EskoArtwork structure under the leadership of Steen Mikkelsen, owner and president of MGE. The transaction is expected to close by end of July 2008.
'The rapid adoption of digital printing devices by the producers of signs and displays is accelerating the demand for our products, as we could very well witness during this Drupa,' says Carsten Knudsen, president and CEO of EskoArtwork. 'I am extremely pleased to extend our partnership with MGE, now working as one team to deliver even stronger solutions to our customers.'
MGE began in the mid-1980s as Sign-Tronic USA and changed its name to Mikkelsen Graphic Engineering in 1996. MGE has grown from a six-person company in 1996 to a 38-person company today. It has corporate office in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and sales offices in California, Arizona, and Germany. The company has also successfully established a network of international OEM, distribution and marketing partnerships with more than 25 RIP and printer developers.
'It's not just accurate cutting anymore that drives profitability, it's the addition of workflow capabilities that increases the competitiveness of our user base', observes Mikkelsen. 'By fully aligning our development and distribution efforts with EskoArtwork's hardware and software technologies and global sales and support channels, we will be able to bring even more attractive and performance converting systems to the digital printing and sign and display markets.'
ESKO
www.esko.com
MIKKELSEN GRAPHIC ENGINEERING
www.mge-us.com