Atlantek Inc., a Wakefield-based provider of thermal digital printing, was acquired by Zebra Technologies Cor. Details of the cash transaction were not disclosed.
Illinois-based Zebra said that Atlantek’s net sales for the past year had exceeded $16 million.
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Founded 1969, Zebra provides bar code labeling and plastic card printing solutions (which includes supplying printers, labeling supplies and software), and became a public company in 1991.
Atlantek has solidified a place in a niche market that includes providing the printer technology for more than 20 states’ driver license operations. Rhode Island signed a deal with Atlantek last year when the state converted to digital licenses. The company also formed a partnership with Eastman Kodak in recent years to design and manufacture professional-grade printers.
Atlantek grew out of a small consulting firm started by company President Harry Schofield in 1986. After doubling its work force to upward of 80 employees a little more than a year ago, more than half of Atlantek’s employees work in operations and manufacturing, while another 20 are in engineering and about a dozen people work in sales and marketing.
Atlantek resides in about two-thirds of an old Wakefield mill building’s 48,500 square feet and already had plans to move into even more space next year as it expands its work with Kodak.
According to the company’s Web site, the last acquisition made by Zebra was for another Rhode Island company, Warwick-based Comtec Information Systems in 2000. Comtec was known for its mobile printing technology that served a base of customers in the retail and hospitality industries.
In 1998, Zebra’s first merger was with Camarillo, Calif.-based Eltron International Inc., a manufacturer of desktop bar code labels and plastic card printers.
The headquarters for Zebra Technologies remains in Vernon Hills, Ill., although the company continues to manufacture and distribute Genuine Zebra Supplies from facilities in Wisconsin, Rhode Island and Preston, England. All products are now sold under the Zebra name with the exception of Eltron-brand card printers.
Zebra is one of the leading global providers of thermal bar code label and receipt printers, card printers, RFID smart label printer/encoders, supplies, label design/integration software and the widest range of thermal printer connectivity and networking solutions.
PBN Staff
