Copyright 2002 Xeikon America, Inc
Xeikon International appoints new CEO and concludes transition period by moving headquarters to Lier Belgium, Lier, Sint-Martens-Latem, June 7, 2002 Punch International NV, EMS-provider with registered seat at St-Martens-Latem, Belgium, today announced the definitive new start of its subsidiary Xeikon International. Xeikon moved its headquarters from Mortsel to Lier in Belgium. Joost Verbrugge was appointed as new CEO. He will take over from former CEO Jan Van Daele, who helped guiding the company during the transition period following the acquisition. Mr. Van Daele will leave the company to pursue other interests. Xeikon International, world leader in the development, production and commercialization of digital color printing systems for a wide range of applications, was acquired by Punch International early March. During the transition phase following the acquisition, Xeikon’s strategic focus was redefined and the company decided to concentrate resources on the development, manufacturing and sales of the DCP or roll-fed printing systems, Xeikon’s market-leading product. In addition, the company prepared the relocation to Xeikon International’s new headquarters in Lier, which was concluded this week. The new building comprises 280,000 sq. ft. of production and inventory space and 130,000 sq. ft. of office space and is equipped with state-of-the-art IT and other facilities. It will house Xeikon International’s headquarters, R&D department, production division and the sales and marketing departments. In addition, the building in Lier will also accommodate other Punch divisions and part of the space will be rented out to third parties. The brand-new building, which will be officially inaugurated later this year, marks the beginning of the new Xeikon and a definitive break with the past. During the past few months, Jan Van Daele took over the position of CEO from Xeikon NV’s former CEO. When Punch International acquired Xeikon, it decided to introduce a transition period for a few months in order to get the company back on track. As Mr. Van Daele had previously served as Vice President R&D within Xeikon, he was prepared to assume the role of CEO during the transition period and to focus on identifying the core activities for the future. Mr. Lucien De Schamphelaere was nominated Chairman of the Board of Directors of Xeikon International. This Board of Directors today appointed Mr. Joost Verbrugge (47) as new CEO of Xeikon International. Mr. Verbrugge was CEO of Barconet until the end of last year, when the American-based Scientific Atlanta acquired the company. Prior to that, he held the position of President for Barco Asia. In that position, he acquired significant international experience, which will be very valuable to Xeikon. Mr. Van Daele will pursue other career opportunities outside the company. Xeikon International, along with CtP manufacturer Strobbe Graphics, is part of the business unit Graphic Systems of Punch International, under the responsibility of Mr. Joost De Graeve. The relocation to Lier involves certain costs. It is however expected that Xeikon, which already gained slight profits during its first month of production as a Punch company, will report break-even results for its first consolidated quarter and will not impact the operational results for Punch International.
About Punch International Founded in 1982, Punch International produces and assembles components, subsystems and finished products for “Original Equipment Manufacturers”, for the consumer and the professional electronics industry. In 2001 Punch achieved a turnover of almost EUR 110 million, and a 101.8% increase in the current profit to EUR 8.5 million. The group operates 13 production units employing more than 2,300 personnel in 8 countries. Punch International has been listed on the First Market of the Brussels Stock Exchange, now Euronext, since 1999, where it is part of the NextPrime index.
About Xeikon International Headquartered in Lier, Belgium, Xeikon develops, produces and sells high quality digital color printing systems. Xeikon is the world’s leading provider of production digital color printing solutions for professional applications in the commercial printing, production variable data printing, packaging and label printing and special applications markets. These systems and their related consumables have been specifically designed to meet the quality, speed, reliability, cost and variable content requirements of the global digital printing market. At the end of 2001, over 2200 Xeikon color systems were installed worldwide.
Xeikon America, Inc.
Xeikon International NV
Punch International NV
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