Esko to sell Kongsberg

Esko owner Danaher is selling the Kongsberg digital wide format finishing business to private equity fund OpenGate Capital, which owns several print and packaging-related businesses.

The deal will include the Kongsberg head office and development centre in Norway and the manufacturing centre in the Czech Republic.

The Kongsberg cutting tables are one of the top selling high-end flatbed digital cutting tables in ANZ, vying with Zünd (and the Canon ProCut, which is a Zünd) for top spot. Kongsberg was established in 1965 and bought by Esko, or Barco as it then was, in 1998.

The Belgian manufacturer, which makes integrated software and hardware products for the packaging, label, and wide-format sectors, announced the planned sale yesterday (15 December).

It is subject to any applicable information and/or consultation with employee representative bodies under applicable local law.

Esko said its Kongsberg customers can “expect business as usual”. Most of the employees who currently work in the Kongsberg business will transfer over to the new standalone entity, which will be called Kongsberg PCS (Precision Cutting Systems).

Its new president will be Stuart Fox, who is currently digital finishing specialist with Esko. He said, “We are excited about this change and the new opportunities it brings for Kongsberg to accelerate growth with new customers.”

The Open Gate fund was established in 2005 in Los Angeles, and since then has acquired several companies in the print and packaging arena, mainly in packaging papers.