On 20 April, Agfa announced that it would be acquiring Inca “subject to customary conditions and approvals”.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

In a statement, Agfa president and CEO Pascal Juéry said the acquisition was “a major step in Agfa’s transformation”. “Digital printing is a profitable growth engine for the group with a tremendous potential that will be further accelerated by the addition of Inca,” he stated.

Agfa’s digital print and chemicals wing is a key growth driver at the business, with sales up 14% to USD 330-m last year and a new water-based ink manufacturing facility opened in Mortsel.

Screen acquired Cambridge-based inkjet developer and manufacturer Inca in a 30-m pound deal in 2005, with inkjet described as a critical part of Screen’s future business. 

Screen HQ had not commented on the rationale behind the disposal at the time of writing, however Bui Burke, senior vice-president of sales at Screen Europe, told PrintWeek that nothing would change for Screen customers, and it would continue to supply parts and consumables exactly as before.

The Inca buy will take Agfa back into the market for high-speed high-end industrial inkjet production devices, where it was active in the past with the Dotrix and M-Press Tiger devices.

Vincent Wille, president of Agfa’s digital print and chemicals division said the two firms would make a powerful combination.

“The combination of Inca Digital’s manufacturing knowhow and Agfa’s technical expertise, worldwide presence and excellent service networks will allow us to bring unparalleled printing solutions to our customers and to adapt seamlessly to their needs in this rapidly evolving space,” he said. “This investment leverages and strengthens our position in the high-end and high-speed wide format market as a whole and specifically in the promising packaging segment.”

Inca’s product range includes the Onset X and Onset X HS series with optional robotic automation, and the Spyder X.

Its Onset M B1 sheetfed device is also sold by Fujifilm as the Acuity B1. 

(PrintWeek.com)