Ever since Gutenberg started fooling around with movable type and an olive press in the fifteenth century, German companies have been key providers to the publishing industry. And now that Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG has purchased pre-press systems vendor Linotype-Hell, you may find yourself increasingly reliant on that particular German conglomerate to get your paper out.
As this issue of TechNews goes to press, Heidelberger's purchase of L-H is pending approval by the Budeskartellamt, the German equivalent of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Although Heidelberger is now privately held, Linotype-Hell is a public company, and it is likely that the post-acquisition subsidiary also will be public.
Heidelberger's purchase of L-H is its third major acquisition in the past eight years. In the fall of 1988, Heidelberger bought Harris Graphics, maker of web and offset presses, and changed its name to Heidelberg Harris Inc. On August 27 of this year, it acquired post-press vendor Sheridan Systems from AM International for approximately $56 million, and renamed it Heidelberg Finishing Systems Inc.
The Harris and Sheridan acquisitions represent something of a family reunion--this is the fourth time the two companies have found themselves under common ownership. (Previous common owners were Harris Corp., AM International and Harris Graphics Corp.) Tim Klee, director of marketing services at Heidelberg Harris, says that Heidelberger has invested heavily in Heidelberg Harris and has made--and kept--a serious commitment to the web and offset markets since the purchase.
Ulrik T. Nygaard, former vice president and general manager of AM International and now president of Heidelberg Finishing Systems, tells a similar story. He says that the parent company has been investing significantly in its post-press subsidiary's products and infrastructure. He also says, "It's important to understand that with Heidelberger's acquisition of Sheridan, Sheridan has access to worldwide distribution, and the chance to grow its business internationally. We're realizing the synergy."
Nygaard says it's too early to speculate on the possible merger of sales and service operations between the companies. So far, none of Sheridan's 480 jobs in Dayton, Ohio, or 280 jobs in Slough, Great Britain, have been downsized. For now, he says, "We're focusing on improving customer sales and service, and rebuilding the company. It's very comfortable for our customers to do business with a company that has a financially strong parent behind it."
Heidelberger's three acquisitions enable it to offer products and services from pre-press through post-press. Says Heidelberger's Dirk Grasse-Leege, "This is part of a general strategy to gain a larger market share--we're prepared to meet customer needs for integrated systems worldwide. If there were no synergies between the products, we wouldn't have bought the companies."
L. Carol Christopher is president of Christopher Communications in Berkeley, Calif. E-mail, cchristo@weber.ucsd.edu; phone, (510) 444-7841.
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