According to Ray Hillhouse, VP sales & marketing for Plockmatic’s Offline Business Unit, the deal fast-tracks the group’s ambitions into offering digital flatbed cutting tables.

“To actually go out and source one and find the right software to drive it and get all that running in a short space of time would have been a struggle, so we started looking at potential acquisitions and this [Intec] came on our radar,” he said.

As a result of the deal, which completed last Friday (8 July), Intec joins a Swedish group that also includes fellow UK post-press manufacturers Morgana and Watkiss.

Speaking to Printweek, Hillhouse said he had known Intec founder Ian Melville for around 30 years, and the deal initially started as a conversation around Morgana perhaps taking on some OEM’d versions of Intec machines.

However, when Melville’s expressed a desire to retire from print and focus on his charitable endeavours – the discussion quickly evolved and was elevated within the Plockmatic Group and its owner, Stockholm-based Grimaldi Industri Group, to possible acquisition.

“This transaction will give me the opportunity to spend more time on several charitable projects that I have been involved with, as well as enjoying some well-earned holiday time. For the business and the staff, it will provide the solid backing from a successful international manufacturer,” said Melville.

Intec’s ColorCut range of digital cutters for short-run label, packaging and commercial print consists of six models: the SC5000 Digital sheet die-cutting and creasing unit, the new generation FB series of digital flatbed cutters and creasers, which features B3, B2, B2+, and B1+ models, and the flagship FB9000PRO automatic flatbed digital die-cutter/creaser. The FB9000PRO was launched earlier this year.

Intec's portfolio also includes the ColorFlare range of embellishment laminator/foilers. As well as consumables, the range consists of Desktop ColorFlare CF350 and standalone ColorFlare CF1200 professional.

“Intec are well known in the industry for providing quality products at competitive prices,” said Plockmatic CEO Jan Marstorp.

“These systems are ideal for small to medium sized print-based operations that need to provide professionally cut and finished promotional display boards, boxes, labels and more. This is a sector of the market that has grown rapidly in recent years, and one that Plockmatic is keen to further explore and expand.”

Intec has 17-staff at its UK headquarters in Poole, Dorset and a two-person US dealer-support operation based out of Tampa, Florida.

The firm’s business model centres on its kit and software being designed, developed and quality controlled in Poole, with the hardware manufactured by overseas partners.

Following Melville’s departure, the Intec business will remain at its current location and be run day-to-day by business development director Mark Baker-Homes as general manager, overseen by Hillhouse in his dual role as general manager UK Plockmatic operations overseeing the Morgana and Watkiss operations.

Hillhouse was fulsome in his praise for Baker-Homes, crediting him as being “instrumental in the product development side” and developing strong relationships with Intec’s manufacturing partners.

“In truth Ian has also been taking a step back from the day-to-day business for some time and had been letting Mark run it,” he added.

“The nice thing [about the deal] is that there’s really nothing wrong with the business. It has a good offer, it’s selling well, and it’s got a cracking product range, so what we’re really looking to do is offer the products through our dealer channel as well.”

He stressed there was nothing wrong with the current Intec distribution channels; it was more of a case of combining the two firms’ channels to explore significant synergies in terms of market and geographic penetration. He also highlighted that Intec range would be very attractive to Plockmatic’s OEM partners, which consist of many of the leading digital press manufacturers.

“We think there are some very good opportunities in specific countries to quickly integrate the entire range [with resellers] and the other target for us is the strong relationships we have with OEM partners, naturally there will be a discussion there.”