Xaar has acquired long time partner FFEI to strengthen its ability to offer integration services particularly to Unique Development Integrators. These are the companies that want to imply inkjet as part of their manufacturing processes, but without purchasing a standalone machine.
FFEI has worked exclusively with Xaar printheads from the introduction of the 1001 head and has worked alongside the printhead manufacturer as part of Fujifilm, before Andy Cook led a management buyout in 2006. It has applied Xaar printheads in label presses from the initial Caslon inkjet press, the Graphium, and now Canon’s narrow width inkjet press. It also offers the Printbar to apply inkjet personalisation on a web press.
FFEI was a recipient of the Queen’s Award for Industry this year, for its tissue scanner in its Life Sciences division. There are no plans to change this: both FFEI and Xaar see opportunities for inkjet applications in the medical sector, though neither is saying how.
Xaar CEO John Mills has explained that working with UDIs is a key part of the company’s strategy since he took over from Doug Edwards, following the cancellation of the thin film printhead project. Cook says: “We never threw ourselves into thin film. Then when John Mills took over and led Xaar back into the bulk head technology we have always been very enthusiastic about it.”
Discussions between the two began naturally, says Cook. By February they had become serious enough for FFEI to consult, under NDA, with key customers. “We reached the point where we had to think about the long term future of the business. FFEI was never in the position of becoming a family business. But we had never put the company up for sale,” he says.
Cook and fellow shareholders, CFO Julian Payne and Bob Wilson, will continue to work; the former pair in the current role and Wilson joining Xaar acting a bridge between the two businesses.
“The employees are delighted,” says Cook. “I’ve spent the last few days speaking with staff, suppliers and customers. They are all delighted.
“And I have known John Mills since his PlasticLogic days. We were in contact and did some work when he was at Inca. I’m sticking around.” Mills concurs: “I’ve personally known the FFEI team for many years and have long admired their capabilities having previously worked closely with them. We are very excited to welcome them to Xaar and look forward to integrating the business as we continue to deliver on our strategy,” he says.
There are no plans to move FFEI from Hemel Hempstead to be closer to Xaar in Cambridge.
“There is a great deal of experience in FFEI that we can tap into,” says Graham Tweedale, general manager of Xaar’s printhead business unit.
“Our strategy is to grow the number of OEMs and UDIs that we can support. The acquisition gives us significant capacity to provide printbars and application support. We are always looking at UDI opportunities and have opportunities where we have been frustrated over the last 12-18 months where we didn’t have the ability to really support them because we didn’t have the right capacity in the business.”
It does now. FFEI employs more than 60, generating sales of £9.9 million in the year to the end of March. Xaar is paying £3.7 million initially, with £5.4 million to be paid over three years.
While the two businesses have been close for the 15 years since the MBO from Fujifilm, for whom it had developed much of what was then the XMF workflow, there have been some secrets for commercial reasons. FFEI had to wait until a printhead was ready to ship before being able to work with it. Now the FFEI team can become involved much earlier in printhead development, something that will bring benefits to both sides of this deal, as well as those all important UDIs.
