It is just under one and a half years ago that Electronics for Imaging (EFI) spun off its production software division and sold it to Symphony Technology Group. Now the division, which has since been operating on the market as eProductivity Software (ePS), has implemented a first step towards further growth – and acquired the British MIS provider Tharstern.
Tharstern was founded in 1984 and its MIS workflow solutions are used primarily by printers and publishers in the UK and Ireland, North America, Australia and South Africa. The software suite “Tharstern Desktop” offers modules for all tasks along the process chain – from pre-sales and order management to production and post-production – and thus supports end-to-end automation. And it does this in different markets: in commercial printing (digital and offset), folding carton and packaging printing, large-format printing, label and flexible packaging printing as well as in mixed production environments. Two years ago, the company also launched “Tharstern Cloud”, a, as the name suggests, cloud-based MIS solution specifically for the label and packaging industry.
With the acquisition of Tharstern, ePS has taken a first step in its, in its own words, “non-organic” growth strategy, i.e. expansion through acquisitions, mergers and other external factors. By integrating Tharstern’s team and customer base, ePS is thus expanding both its market position in the SME printing segment and its geographical reach and portfolio. The British MIS provider brings 52 employees and, according to its own statements, more than 600 customer installations to the ePS organisation. Through the acquisition, ePS intends to drive and expand its cloud offering in the future.
For the users of the Tharstern MIS, however, nothing will change. In future, they will have easier access to the software solutions of ePS and thus receive added value, it is said.
