Creo Acquires U.S. Printing Plate Manufacturing Facility.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 17, 2004 Creo Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :CREO) (TSX TSX Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE before April, 2002) TSX Transfer from Stack Pointer to Index TSX True Space Extension :CRE CRE Commercial Real Estate CRE Corporate Real Estate CRE Commission for Racial Equality (Scotland) CRE CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and Readout Electronics CRE Camp Response Element ), today announced the acquisition of a printing plate manufacturing facility in Middleway, West Virginia Middleway is an unincorporated town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, USA. On January 15, 1786, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act establishing the town of Smithfield on land owned by John Smith II and William Smith. from Spectratech International, Inc. Under the terms of the transaction, Creo acquires the assets of Spectratech for approximately US$13.3 million and working capital for approximately US$6.0 million. The assets include Spectratech's current plate business, land, manufacturing equipment, factory and storage facilities while working capital consists of inventory and accounts receivable accounts receivable n. the amounts of money due or owed to a business or professional by customers or clients. Generally, accounts receivable refers to the total amount due and is considered in calculating the value of a business or the business' problems in paying . Creo expects that the acquisition will be accretive to earnings by the end of this calendar year. "We have achieved a major milestone with today's acquisition," stated Amos Michelson, Creo chief executive officer. "Creo now has long-run negative plate technology with superior on-press performance that complements the strengths of the Creo Positive Thermal Plate (PTP (1) See peer-to-peer. (2) (Picture Transfer Protocol) An ISO standard for transferring photos from a digital camera to a computer or photo printer. ). We also gain many new thermal plate customers most of whom already own Creo equipment." Creo will introduce two Creo negative thermal plates based on the acquired plate technology - Fortis(TM) PN for the newspaper market and Mirus(TM) PN for the commercial and packaging market. Creo will launch both the Fortis and Mirus plates in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , Europe, the Middle East and Africa Europe, the Middle East and Africa, usually abbreviated to EMEA, is a regional designation used for government, marketing and business purposes. It is particularly common amongst North American based companies, who often divide their international operations into the immediately and in other regions later this year. The plates will be sold through the Creo global direct sales force as well as existing dealers and distributors. Mr. Michelson continued, "The Fortis thermal plate targets the specific needs of newspaper printers requiring a robust plate with quick roll-up and low water consumption. The Mirus thermal plate for commercial and packaging printers is a high resolution, very long-run thermal plate that is suitable for use with UV inks. Combined with the Creo PTP, which is optimized for medium to long run length commercial printing, we have a complete solution for printers in all markets." "With the acquisition of this U.S.-based manufacturing facility, Creo more than doubles our wholly-owned manufacturing capacity and secures an ideal location for the distribution, logistics and support of our customers in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and around the world," said Eyal Shpilberg, corporate vice president, thermal consumables. "An important part of this transaction is the addition of people with years of experience in producing, selling and supporting high-quality plates."" Technical Specifications: Creo Fortis PN (newspaper market) -- High-resolution, negative working -- UV- and IR- sensitive -- Long run: 250,000 impressions unbaked un·baked adj. Not having been baked or cooked, especially in an oven: unbaked bricks; an unbaked pie crust. -- High contrast -- Qualified for Staccato(R) 36 screening (1200dpi) -- Scratch resistant -- Stable shelf life Technical Specifications: Creo Mirus PN (commercial and packaging market) -- High-resolution, negative working -- UV- and IR- sensitive -- Long run: 250,000 impressions unbaked and up to one million impressions post-baked -- High contrast -- Qualified for Staccato(R) 10 screening -- Scratch resistant -- Stable shelf life -- Sizes up to 59" X 82" (1498 X 2082 mm) More information about the Fortis and Mirus thermal plates can be found at www.creo.com/plates. About Creo Creo Inc. is a global company with key strengths in imaging and software technology. The leading provider of prepress systems, Creo helps over 25,000 customers worldwide adopt digital production methods which reduce costs, increase print quality and allow them to serve their customers more efficiently. Based on a solid foundation of intellectual property, Creo has an unmatched range of technology solutions that address the needs of commercial, publication, on demand, packaging, and newspaper printers, and creative professionals. Creo product lines include software and hardware for computer-to-plate imaging, systems for digital photography, scanning, and proofing, as well as printing plates and proofing media. Creo also supplies on-press imaging technology, components for digital presses, color servers and high-speed digital printers. Based in Vancouver, Canada, Creo employs more than 4,000 people and reported fiscal 2003 revenue of US$578 million. Creo trades on NASDAQ (CREO) and the TSX (CRE). www.creo.com About Spectratech Spectratech International is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of Southern Lithoplate, Inc., a North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. corporation. Southern Lithoplate specializes in the manufacture, distribution, and service of analog and digital lithoplates and associated products for targeted print markets. Southern Lithoplate is based in Wake Forest, North Carolina Wake Forest is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. The population was 12,588 at the 2000 census. The town was the original home of Wake Forest University. The former Wake Forest campus is the current home to the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. . www.slp.com. (C) 2004 Creo Inc. The Creo product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or service marks of Creo Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Other company and brand, product and service names are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Data is subject to change without notice. This news release contains forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. within the meaning of the "safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. " provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the following: (1) new markets and product introductions do not proceed as planned and may adversely affect future revenues; (2) technological changes or changes in the competitive environment may adversely affect the products, market share, revenues or margins of the business; and (3) changes in general economic, financial or business conditions may adversely affect the business or the markets in which it operates. These risks and uncertainties as well as other important risks and uncertainties are described under the caption "Certain Factors That May Affect Future Results" and elsewhere in our Annual Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and which are incorporated herein by reference. We do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this news release. |
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