Oosterhout - Q.I. Press Controls, active in the print industry with eight locations worldwide, will take over EAE, the control and automation specialist for printing machines, starting April 1, 2014. An agreement was made not to divulge the purchase price.   

Q.I. Press Controls will continue EAE’s core business at the firm’s Ahrensburg (near Hamburg) and Atlanta (USA) locations. The Oosterhout, Netherlands-based company is an international specialist for products which automate printing processes to a high degree, thereby reducing waste paper and leading to more quality consistency.

“The acquisition of EAE underlines our commitment to the printing industry”, says Erik van Holten, Chairman of Q.I. Press Controls. “Innovation has always been key to our success. With the acquisition of EAE, Q.I. Press Controls is able to meet the requirements of the printing industry in an even more comprehensive way. Through the expansion of our product portfolio we have become an even more interesting business partner to our customers.”

The committee of creditors on March 25, 2014 unanimously agreed to sell EAE Ahrensburg Electronic GmbH. Nearly all employees who are currently working for EAE, will continue to work for the company. 

Steps toward restructuring

The EAE had filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2013 with the district court in Reinbek. As part of the proceedings the company was restructured and relieved of bad debt. Among other things, its stage technology business was sold and the switchboard production stopped. Since a sale of EAE did not succeed during that time, the company filed for bankruptcy on December 1, 2013.

With the agreement of the creditors to continue unrestricted business operations, EAE was in the past months able to continue fulfilling all existing and all new orders without delay. In Germany, in Europe and in the USA, EAE won contracts for new projects. At the same time, additional steps were introduced to increase profitability and efforts to find an investor were redoubled. 

EAE under the roof of Q.I. Press Controls

Q.I. Press Controls plans to continue EAE’s innovative services which are focused on optimizing the printing process. This development means for international customers that they can rely on EAE solutions in the future as well. The company’s reliable support will even be enhanced on a global level because of the number of locations will expand. In addition, customers can look forward to new innovations. 

“By joining together and pooling the abilities of both companies, we are getting closer to reaching our goal of simplifying the steadily growing complexity of the printing process through the use of innovative concepts”, said Menno Jansen, Chairman of Q.I. Press Controls.