Tags:
As part of Creo’s drive into CTP plate production, the company has acquired a printing plate manufacturing facility in Middleway, West Virginia from Spectratech International. Under the terms of the transaction, Creo acquires the assets of Spectratech for approximately US$13.3m and working capital for approximately US$6m. The assets include Spectratech’s current plate business, land, manufacturing equipment, factory and storage facilities while working capital consists of inventory and accounts receivable. Creo expects that the acquisition will be accretive to earnings by the end of this calendar year.Amos Michelson, Creo CEO says, "We have achieved a major milestone with today’s acquisition. Creo now has long-run negative plate technology with superior on-press performance that complements the strengths of the Creo Positive Thermal Plate (PTP). We also gain many new thermal plate customers most of whom already own Creo equipment."
Creo will introduce two Creo negative thermal plates based on the acquired plate technology – Fortis PN for the newspaper market and Mirus PN for the commercial and packaging market. Creo will launch both the Fortis and Mirus plates in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa immediately and in other regions later this year. The plates will be sold through the Creo global direct sales force as well as existing dealers and distributors.
The Fortis is a high-resolution, negative working UV- and IR- sensitive plate, featuring maximum runs of 250,000 impressions unbaked. It is scratch-resistant and is qualified for Staccato 36 screening (1200dpi).
The Mirus is a high-resolution, negative working UV- and IR- sensitive plate, capable of 250,000 impressions unbaked and up to one million impressions post-baked. It is qualified for Staccato 10 screening and comes in sizes up 1498x2082mm.
