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September 2005

Sericol receives fifth Queen's Award

March 2005

Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd Purchases Sericol Group Ltd

January 2005

Sericol to be acquired by Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd

News Archive - 2005

Company news

September 2005

Sericol receives fifth Queen's Award

Sericol, world-leaders in printing ink solutions, received a coveted Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation on Thursday 9th September from the Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Mr Allan Willett. The award recognises outstanding commercial success through innovation.

Presenting the award on behalf of the Queen, the Lord Lieutenant, a former industrialist, said: “I know how hard it is to win a Queen’s Award even once. It requires focus and dedication.” The award, Sericol’s fifth, is an achievement that few companies have accomplished.

The award recognises Sericol’s runaway success with its Uvijet range of inks, which are exported around the world. Their UV-curing, instant-drying properties have enabled a new generation of wide format digital printers to produce graphic displays and point-of-sale material at the push of a button. The technique has revolutionised visual communications, which can now be printed on virtually any substrate including paper, glass, plastic, and board.

Reflecting warmly on the Queen’s own dedication and service over the past 52 years, Mr Willett observed that during her reign the country had transformed itself into a modern society. “A major factor in this enormous success has been our ability to create great entrepreneurial organisations. Companies such as Sericol are a perfect example of this. They have enriched our nation and the communities in which they operate. On their behalf, I thank you.”

Accepting the award, Mr Peter Kenehan, Managing Director of Sericol Imaging, praised the contribution from Sericol staff around the world, as well as printing equipment manufacturers, Inca and Zund. In collaboration the companies have placed over 400 digital printers worldwide using Sericol’s Uvijet ink. Mr Kenehan said: “We live in a digital age. Printing is no exception. It is incumbent on us to lead that change. We should consider this award as just the end of the beginning.”

To celebrate the day 120 invited guests, representing the local community, customers, suppliers and employees, toured the research and production complex at Broadstairs in Kent to see first-hand how the world-class manufacturing operation works.

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March 2005

Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd Purchases Sericol Group Ltd

London, England – FUJIFILM Sericol Group Ltd, formerly known as Sericol Group Ltd — a leading manufacturer of specialist screen and digital inks — announced today that Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd, based in Tokyo, Japan has completed its acquisition of the company as a wholly owned subsidiary. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Sericol’s global headquarters will remain in Broadstairs, Kent.

"Sericol is an extremely interesting company with a unique position in an attractive and growing market," said Fujifilm. "The company has a unique product offering and a highly competent management team, and we consider that it has excellent prospects for continued profitable growth."

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January 2005

Sericol to be acquired by Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd

On January 19, it was announced that Fuji Photo Film Co Ltd had signed an agreement to acquire Sericol from an investment group led by Saratoga Partners. The deal is expected to close in late February.

Sericol is the world leader in the production of premium inks and other consumables for the screen-printing and narrow web industries. It has also aggressively expanded and taken a leading position in the wide format digital ink market. Sericol has a strong reputation for its technical support services and business partnering programs with its customers. Sericol is known for the quality of its products and services and is a technology leader in UV screen, flexo and digital inks.

Fujifilm said, “The acquisition will further expand and develop Fujifilm’s printing business, one of the company’s core businesses into other areas of industrial and package printing which are expected to grow steadily in demand”. Fujifilm plans to operate Sericol as one of the key business units within it’s printing business and that its current management, including Chief Executive Ed Carhart, will remain with the company.

Ed Carhart commented: “We are very pleased and excited with this change of ownership. Fujifilm is a well run, innovative, technology driven company with extensive resources that we will be able to draw upon to continue to grow all facets of our business.”

Sericol’s main manufacturing facilities are in Broadstairs, England and Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It has other plants in Australia, India, China and Brazil as well as offices in Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Japan, Poland, Mexico, Switzerland, Spain and Taiwan. The company has 1200 employees worldwide.

Saratoga Partners is a New York based middle-market private-equity firm. Since its founding in 1984, Saratoga has invested in 33 companies with an aggregate value of more than $3.7 billion. It specializes in partnering with management teams to acquire companies with strong market positions in specialized manufacturing and business service industries.

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