MGI Acquires French Manufacturer of Inkjet for Printed Electronics

MGI Digital Graphic Technology has announced the acquisition of 100 percent stake in CERADROP, a company specializing in the design and manufacturing of high-end professional inkjet printing systems for the printed electronics industry. With this operation, MGI Digital Graphic Technology positions itself in a new high growth market, where it will deploy the same innovation that has led to its current international success in the graphic arts industry.

A French leader
CERADROP is a cutting-edge French company based in Limoges, France, founded in 2006, by members of the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique) the world-renowned laboratory, and in under just seven years has become the French leader in inkjet equipment for printed electronics market and the printing of 3-D components.

A unique technology coupled with very specific inks, CERADROP has developed advanced equipment for printing both 2-D and 3-D-ceramic and organic electronic components with high added-value, such as antennas, Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display screens, electronic chip cards, solar cells, RFID tags, printed batteries, and biomedical sensors.

These components can be printed onto a wide variety of materials such as glass, metals, polymers, plastics, paper and others to open up a wealth of applications that outperforms many conventional manufacturing processes.

CERADROP’s product lineup is capable of adapting to itself to print very complex component designs and overcome constraints linked to the type of materials being deposited via inkjet with an exclusive patented software suite. Ceradrop currently counts among their customers advanced scientific laboratories, such as the CEA and Centre National d' Etudes Spatiales in Fraunhofer Germany, industrial groups such as Gemalto, DisaSolar and Thales, as well as American universities such as Northwestern.

Another important high growth market includes printed OLED displays for the industrial and third generation printed solar panels.

The equipment manufactured and marketed by CERADROP has been developed from applied research in the field of nanotechnology. CERADROP solutions are able to print from 50˝ wide conductive track to multilayer ceramic components such as 3-D-printing.

CERADROP counts on a team of 15 Doctors, engineers and technicians and integrates the entire value chain at the Limoges site in France. The company is currently involved in several major research programs, illustrating its recognized technological expertise:

• SPrinTronics to equip Europeans players in the electronics and solar industry disruptive technology in areas such as medical, aerospace, digital security and electric vehicles.
• ASTRIJE managed by CEA on the implementation of printed fuel cells using inkjet printing.
• CerMJet developed with the DGA in the field of printed ceramic magnetic components.

A market forecasted more than 40 billion dollars in 2020
The manufacturing of electronic components using printing processes has been forecasted to grow exponentially in the coming years. These new processes are intended for sectors as diverse as energy, aerospace, defense, transportation and health and require large volumes of production.

The advantages of printed electronics over traditional methods are numerous: lower investments, mass customization, performance, integration of components on substrates of any size and complexity.

These benefits are at the heart of the projected market boom in printed electronics. According to IDTechEx market research, the market for printed electronics was estimated at $9.4 billion in 2012, and is forecasted to grow to more than $40 billion in 2020 and $300 billion by 2030.

Strategic moves for MGI
In the 90s, digital printing technologies shook the world of conventional offset printing processes in the graphic arts industry. A new revolution is now underway in the world of electronics with the launch of printed electronics and 3-D printing.

The fusion of CERADROP’s advanced technologies and MGI’s hardware and software expertise will provide multi-material, high precision and scalable equipment to fit the needs of a new industry that is primed for massive growth. The technological expertise and know-how around inkjet printing housed at CERADROP will also have an immediate impact on MGI’s enhanced future product line.

From a manufacturing standpoint, CERADROP will benefit from significant purchasing synergies and industry expertise acquired by MGI over the years, especially when coupled with the 2011 acquisition of KÖRA-PACKMAT, German automation specialist, which reinforced MGI’s expertise in the fabrication of precision mechanical systems.

The final combination of these three different areas of expertise gives rise to a group which has all the necessary know-how needed to take full advantage of the announced revolution in printed electronics and 3-D-printing.

"With the acquisition of CERADROP, a new promising area of growth emerges for the MGI Group," said Edmond Abergel, president of MGI Digital Graphic Technology. "Twenty years ago, we were pioneers in the world of digital printing for professionals in the graphic arts industry. Through our innovation and setting our sights since the very beginning on the international markets, we have become a recognized player in this market.

Today, with the explosion of printed electronics and 3-D printing, new opportunities are available to us.

Our technological advantages allow us to be a leader in this new business segment. With the team from CERADROP at our side, we can establish a center of excellence with exceptional and global expertise the field of inkjet. Integrating CERADROP will thus enable us not only to accelerate innovation in our current markets but also to position ourselves in these new markets for printed electronics and 3-D-printing, which has been widely forecasted to become mass market in the next five years.”

About the MGI Group
The MGI Group is composed of MGI Digital Graphic Technology, headquartered in Paris (Ivry-sur-Seine), France, KÖRA-PACKMAT, located in Villingendorf, Germany, and CERADROP, located in Limoges, France.

Founded in 1982, MGI Digital Graphic Technology designs, manufactures and markets a full and innovative range of award-winning digital presses and a complete line of versatile finishing solutions. MGI has a portfolio comprised of several thousand customers in a wide range of sectors, including graphic industry professionals, Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies, plastic card manufacturers, silkscreeners and photo labs.

A leader in the professional graphic equipment market, MGI is registered on the Euronext Paris Alternext stock exchange (ALMDG). They received the prestigious OSEO “Innovative Company” & "OSEO Excellence" labels respectively in 2009 and 2012 in recognition of their expertise and innovation in the graphics & finishing industry. In addition, MGI has won thirteen international product awards from 2008-2012 related to technological innovation, including the 2010 Siemens Innovation Grand Prix and the 2011 Engineering Prize for their color inkjet technology and the InterTech Technology Award from PIA in 2013.

MGI USA, based in Melbourne, FL, is MGI’s fully-owned subsidiary that services the North and South American, Caribbean and Asia-Pacific markets.

KÖRA-PACKMAT is an industrial manufacturing company which specializes in the development of offset subsystems. With four business units that cover feeding systems, paper transport systems, film wrapping machines and ultrasonic sealing systems, KÖRA-PACKMAT has a worldwide presence that is represented through a network of distributors and a subsidiary based in Singapore.

Source: MGI.