Lahr/Burscheid (Germany) – May 07, 2008 – With an ‘Asset Acquisition’, NELA acquired M+A Pass-System GmbH. Both companies are manufacturers of equipment for the pre-press industry.

While NELA is active in the newspaper as well as in the commercial web and sheetfed markets, M+A has specialized in automatic register punching, sheering and bending systems for offset plates for the web market, focusing on high-quality and high-volume printers in Europe.

“The acquisition is a great chance to offer our customers even better and more comprehensive services,” comments Frank Neumeister, General Manager of NELA Germany. “The trend towards even larger plate formats on the new printing presses as for example the GOSS Sunday 5000 or the 96-page MAN Lithoman, which will be presented at drupa, also requires increased automation of plate production.”

Both companies have a wealth of experience in the commercial web market, with Ronald Metje (previous 2nd generation president of M+A) contributing more than 30 years of M+A expert knowledge to the merger. As the new NELA Sales Manager Commercial Web, Mr. Metje will continue to counsel national and international customers in the area of system solutions for the pre-press area.

On March 31st, 2008, the municipal court of Cologne had decided to institute insolvency proceedings against M&A Pass-System GmbH. All operations from the M&A facilities in Burscheid and Leichlingen (Germany) will be transferred to Lahr (Germany) where the NELA corporate headquarters are located. Customer service and operations are guaranteed to be continued.

For NELA, this is the latest in a series of acquisitions in the past several years. Similar to the related business field of CTP and printing plate manufacturers, the consolidation process continues in the pre-press market. NELA acquired Ternes in 2000, Western Lithotech (except the plate production) in 2004, Stoesser in 2007 and now M&A in 2008.