Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems (Kongsberg PCS) has acquired MultiCam, a US-based manufacturer and distributor of computer numerical control (CNC) cutting machines and digital finishing processes.
Kongsberg PCS is a renowned supplier of digital cutting options to packaging, signage and display markets worldwide. MultiCam supplies CNC cutting systems for a variety of industries and applications, ranging from sign making to digital finishing, aerospace to automotive, sheet-metal to plate-steel processing, hardwoods to cabinet making, thermoform trimming to plastics fabrication.
MultiCam will continue to operate under its own name within the Kongsberg PCS business, with current MultiCam CEO David J Morse joining the Kongsberg PCS senior management team and continuing to lead the business.
For Kongsberg PCS, the acquisition of MultiCam, including its operations in the US and sales offices in Canada and Germany, expands the company’s market reach and customer base across North America and Europe. It has also created the world’s first diversified provider of digital finishing and CNC cutting machines, as Kongsberg PCS president Stuart Fox explained.
‘Our businesses coming together to drive best-in-class cutting and finishing processes will deliver a tremendous advantage for our global customer base. Following the completion of the deal, I am now excited to begin integrating our businesses and exploring new markets.’
The acquisition comes within six months of Kongsberg PCS being established as a standalone business after being acquired by OpenGate Capital from Esko. OpenGate Capital partner Julien Lagrèze said, ‘We recognised the importance of digitisation for this business and developed an investment thesis that includes the growth of Kongsberg PCS through innovation and add-on investments. With this strategic combination, Kongsberg PCS gains greater scale, and expands its reach to a broader, global customer base with new products and services.’
This new also comes hot on the heels of the recruitment of Wim Brunsting as Kongsberg PCS EMEA sales director, an appointment made as the company seeks to, ‘focus on our future and our continued growth and evolution through innovation.’
Returning to the MultiCam acquisition, Mr Fox said, ‘Since 1965, the Kongsberg name has been synonymous with innovation. Our systems have led the industry in delivering precision, reliability and quality through seven decades, and with the investment of our owners we have a roadmap that will undoubtedly take this robust company to a new level. MultiCam shares this ambition, and just like Kongsberg PCS, the business has a loyal and valued team that has been with the company for many years and helped build and shape it into what it is today.
‘We are excited to develop and expand the product portfolio and to create new opportunities to grow our tooling and consumables offering. In addition to strengthening our hardware offering, we are also planning routes into new markets, in areas we know are currently not catered for and will benefit from our market-leading solutions. MultiCam has extraordinary market reach with its range of CNC routers, laser, plasma, waterjet and knife cutting machines, and we are thrilled to now welcome MultiCam to the Kongsberg family.’
Mr Morse noted, ‘At MultiCam, we have worked for over 30 years to diligently build a world class organisation in the focused cutting arenas of routing, fabrication and digital finishing. The MultiCam brand is synonymous with quality, durability and ease of use. We are very pleased to join forces with Kongsberg who has built an outstanding global brand and culture that align directly with what we have built at MultiCam.
‘It has always been my goal to provide the necessary scale to MultiCam to truly become one of the top global cutting companies in all three categories of CNC cutting. Combining Kongsberg PCS’ 50 years of outstanding history in digital finishing and over 12,000 machines installed, together with MultiCam’s 14,000-plus installed machines, strengthens our position in the global market. I look forward to working side by side with the great leadership team at Kongsberg to build a world class global cutting solution provider. Together we are stronger.’
