Kaz Matsuyama, SATO chief executive
Japanese company Sato, provider of Auto-ID solutions, has acquired a 100% share of UK-based inline digital printing technology manufacturer, DataLase, following a strategic partnership between the companies since October 2015.
The acquisition will allow the DataLase technology to be used within Sato’s products to deliver financial savings, environmental benefits and enhanced marketing capabilities for end users. Application in total track and trace solutions is expected to provide benefits for customers in numerous high-volume, fast-moving industries including manufacturing, logistics, pharmaceuticals and food and beverage.
The DataLase technoligy enables high-speed, fast turnaround printing which is ideal for packaging and product customisation and personalisation. It allows printing of variable information to enable real-time marketing to maximise brand owner and consumer value. The system is inkless at the point of printing, thus removing the need for consumables in the production environment at the point of fulfilment.
DataLase CEO Chris Wyres commented, ‘We are pleased to announce this evolution of our strategic partnership with Sato and firmly believe this will enable our revolutionary inline digital printing solutions to be delivered to a global customer base.’
‘DataLase is a transformative addition to the Sato Group and we will grow its game-changing technology into one of our core businesses to add holistic value for our customers,’ said Sato president and CEO Kaz Matsuyama. ‘Embracing new technologies to tag, track and link data to everything is key to developing innovative on-site solutions that enable the streamlined work sites of the future. This acquisition expands the Auto-ID options for our customers and we consider it absolutely essential to achieving our long-term business objectives.’
The two companies first teamed in October 2015 to form the strategic partnership SpeciaLase to introduce the DataLase technology in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. Sato held a 33.3% share of DataLase prior to this acquisition.
