The purchase includes Checkpoint's hand-held labeller manufacturing business in the US. Checkpoint says the deal will allow it to focus on its key "core" businesses, which include retail merchandising systems, electronic article surveillance hardware and RFID and source tagging systems, while Sato sees the acquisition as an opportunity to "immediately increase" its presence and customer base in the international barcode systems market.
The transaction will give Sato additional manufacturing sites in Germany and Spain, complementing those it already has in the UK and France, with the deal set to approximately double the turnover of Sato International (all Sato's operations outside Japan) and add some 390 staff.
Sato president Masanori Otsuka says: "This is a strategic acquisition that complements our existing business and fits with out long-term vision of growth and profitability, especially in the consumables market segment outside of Japan. Consumables sales account for a large portion of our local business and will continue to be an important driver for growth."
