HEIDELBERG Acquires Polar Mohr Brand Rights and Technology
Highlights:
- HEIDELBERG exclusively obtains technology for Polar Mohr postpress products, including patents, intellectual property rights, and brand
- Polar Group, owned by SOL Capital Management, to remain HEIDELBERG development partner and continue production and assembly activities
- HEIDELBERG takes further step toward systems integrator status, especially in packaging and label sector
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) has come to an arrangement with the Polar Group companies to acquire the technology, intellectual property (IP), and brand rights of this long-standing partner, together with further assets. The two parties have signed an agreement to this effect. It is expected that the transaction will be concluded within the coming weeks, after which HEIDELBERG will have exclusive global sales, service, and marketing rights for the postpress products. In this way, HEIDELBERG is consolidating its partnership with Polar Mohr and gaining direct access to further packaging markets in the growth regions of Asia, South America, and the Middle East. All processes relating to new machines, the supply of replacement parts, and service operations will remain the same as before for customers.
The POLAR LabelSystem DC-12 RAPID stands for the highly automated, unmanned inline production of bundled diecut and cut labels.
“HEIDELBERG is aiming to achieve targeted growth through M&A activities in attractive market segments. This acquisition underscores our credentials as a full-range supplier for our customers in the packaging and label industry, including service, and gives us exclusivity in a growing market,” says Jürgen Otto, CEO of HEIDELBERG. “As a systems integrator, we cover the entire value chain of a packaging print shop – on a fully integrated and networked basis – to ensure production is highly productive. Polar Mohr systems play a key role in this context,” he adds.
Dating back to the 1950s, the partnership between HEIDELBERG and Polar Mohr has proved extremely successful for both businesses. Polar Mohr develops and manufactures the systems, while HEIDELBERG has been responsible for large parts of the sales and service activities. On completion of the transaction, this responsibility will become global and exclusive. HEIDELBERG offers postpress systems from Polar Mohr as an integral part of its solutions portfolio. The focus is on automation, digitalization, and workflow integration, with a view to boosting the productivity of customers’ value chains in packaging and label production. The product range includes components and systems that link up and automate all processes – from loading, jogging, cutting, and die cutting through to unloading and banding.
With the POLAR AirGo Jog, the edge-precise alignment of individual sheets of paper or cardboard to form layers before cutting is fully automatic.
The Polar Group companies, owned by SOL Capital Management, will continue to operate as a partner of HEIDELBERG for the future development, production, and assembly of Polar Mohr systems.
“When we took over the Polar Group in early 2023, we acquired a tradition-steeped group of companies full of innovative spirit. Over the past couple of years, we have further intensified the collaboration with HEIDELBERG. The next logical step for us was the long-term consolidation of this very close relationship. We are delighted to be taking the next important step together with this sale of brand rights and technology and the full incorporation of sales and service activities into the HEIDELBERG organization. This transaction will strengthen the market position of HEIDELBERG in the postpress, label, and packaging market on a long-term basis. It also leaves Polar Mohr to focus entirely on its core competences as a developer and manufacturer,” says Dr. Paul Niederkofler, Managing Partner at SOL Capital Management.
The two parties have agreed that the details of the agreement will remain confidential.
The preceding press release was provided by a company unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.
