Grapo Technologies Acquired by Private Investment Group

Grapo Technologies, the Czech Republic-based manufacturer of wide-format hybrid and flatbed UV printers, has announced its acquisition by a group of private investors. The company will be re-named SigmaJet; Branislav Oravec, previously sales and marketing director of Grapo Technologies, has been appointed the new SigmaJet CEO.  

“We are very excited about the new opportunities that this partnership is presenting to us. It marks the start of a new and exciting chapter for SigmaJet,” says Oravec. “The wide-format print markets are experiencing phenomenal growth, and thanks to the support of our new investment team we will be able to increase our reach and value-offering. Our strategy is to continue to provide our customers with high-quality, high-performance wide-format solutions that address the constantly evolving demands of the inkjet-printing market.”

The group reports it is making significant investments in areas of manufacturing, R&D, training, and customer support; it will open a new state-of the-art demonstration facility in Bratislava, Slovakia, in January 2012. In addition, SigmaJet is currently working on a new online presence, including the rolling-out of an updated website in the next few weeks. The new domain will be sigmajet.com; once the updated site in online, visitors to the current grapo.com domain will be automatically diverted to the new one.

The company’s current branded printers – including the Manta printer line (Manta, Manta Slim, and Manta White), Gemini, and Shark – are undergoing migration to the new SigmaJet badging.

SigmaJet reports that the company’s Octopus II line “will be phased-out over time, since technical and engineering advances in SigmaJet's other products have created an overlap in its value offering.”

The US distributor for the SigmaJet products will remain Integra Technologies International (www.integraint.com), based in Austin, Texas.

“All of us at Integra are excited by the changes being implemented at Grapo/Sigma,” says Ron Skaggs, president of Integra Technologies. “These changes are important steps in the evolution of the company as a world-class manufacturer of UV print technology. Our partnership with Sigma has become stronger in large part because of the positive changes we have witnessed.”

SIGMAJET
www.grapo.com  
www.sigmajet.com