Ich denke die folgende Mitteilung ist von Interesse für alle Mitglieder
der Mailingliste und ich selbst habe gemischte Gefühle, ob die Nachricht
positiv oder negativ ist.
Gruß
Dietmar Wueller
Die offizielle Mitteilung von Gestern:
January 31, 2006
Dear Color Consultant and Industry Influencer,
It is my pleasure to share with you some exciting news. Today, we are
announcing our intent to join forces with X-Rite, also a recognized
leader in the color industry.
Combining GretagMacbeth and X-Rite will enable us to unite the
best-of-the-best in terms of product innovation, service and support,
and talent. Our opportunity to deliver exceptional customer value from
this combination increases exponentially. I could not be more thrilled
with the prospects that lie ahead.
Combining our R&D, sales and marketing resources will be a major driver
for new innovation and growth in the combined company. The joining of
the two companies will provide the scale, market reach and talent never
before enjoyed in the color management solutions markets.
While X-Rite will acquire the shares of Amazys Holding AG, the parent
company of GretagMacbeth, for cash and stock, the spirit of the deal is
one of a "merger". The CEO of X-Rite, Mike Ferrara, will continue as
CEO. I will become President and COO of the combined company and
intended successor to Michael Ferrara, subject to approval by the Board
of Directors. Mary Chowning will have the role as CFO and Francis Lamy
will become CTO. We are very excited about having an opportunity to lead
in this new situation.
We at GretagMacbeth understand you will have questions about what this
means for the GretagMacbeth products and solutions you have come to rely
upon. In the short-term, GretagMacbeth and X-Rite will continue to
operate as separate companies. We will remain with our own respective
products and services, and you will have the same contacts at
GretagMacbeth as you do now. We will continue to provide a high level of
service and support on existing and future purchases, so you can
recommend or purchase GretagMacbeth solutions with confidence.
Following the completion of the transaction, expected in late Spring
2006, we will bring together the best and brightest technologists and
marketers from each company to focus on next generation technologies,
existing product portfolios and convergence issues. While consolidation
naturally occurs when two such organizations unite, I can assure you
that decisions will be made in a thoughtful, measured manner keeping all
of our stakeholders in mind.
As we keep you informed along the way, we encourage your involvement,
and value your thoughts and input. As is our tradition at GretagMacbeth,
we will solicit your active participation in our product development
cycles based on your area of expertise. We are very excited that Francis
Lamy has agreed to be our CTO and chief driver of new technology. As you
are probably aware, Francis has been extremely instrumental in bringing
our Eye-One technology to market and we anticipate an accelerated rate
of new advances under his leadership.
Please feel free to contact any of our marketing or sales managers with
any questions or concerns. Details about the announcement may be found
on our web site at
gretagmacbeth.com/announce
<http://www.gretagmacbeth.com/announce>.
I would like to thank you for your ongoing support and the opportunity
to further demonstrate how truly committed we are to seeing our industry
flourish. The best is yet to come!
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Vacchiano Jr.
/CEO, GretagMacbeth /
--
Mit freundlichem Gruß
Dietmar Wueller
Image Engineering
Dietmar Wueller
Augustinusstr. 9d
50226 Frechen
Germany
phone +49 2234 912141
fax +49 2234 912142
d.wueller(a)ivent.de
www.image-engineering.de