Esko, formerly called EskoArtwork, is a graphic arts company producing prepress software and hardware for the packaging and labels, sign and display and publishing industries.[1] Esko is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium and is a subsidiary of Veralto Corporation.[2]

Esko
Company typeSubsidiary of Veralto Corporation (NYSE: VLTO)
IndustryGraphic arts
FoundedGhent, Belgium (2002)
Headquarters,
Key people
Joel Depernet
Number of employees
1800 (2018)
Websitewww.esko.com

History

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Esko was the result of a merger between Barco Graphics and Purup-Eskofot A/S in 2001.[3] The merged company was called Esko-Graphics but was renamed Esko in 2006. In the fall of 2005, Esko became fully owned by Axcel, a Danish private financial company.[4]

In August 2007 Esko announced that it was 'joining forces' [5] with Artwork Systems Group NV (AWS), its chief competitor in the packaging prepress market.[6] Esko initially bought 76.69% of AWS shares for €196 million.[7] Enfocus, a brand of PDF pre-flighting and workflow software originally acquired by Artwork Systems in 2000, became a subsidiary of the combined EskoArtwork company.[8]

Reflecting the merger, Esko changed its name to EskoArtwork. It also introduced a new logo, though it is visually very close to the Esko original.

In January 2011, 100% of EskoArtwork shares have been transferred to Danaher.[9] In January 2012, the name changed back to Esko, the logo was also updated. Esko acquired CAPE Systems[10] (a palletization software vendor) in 2013, MediaBeacon[11] (a Digital Asset Management vendor) in 2015 and Blue Software, LLC[12] (a label and artwork management software vendor) in 2018. At the end of September 2023, Danaher spun-off its Environmental and Applied Solutions segment as Veralto Corporation.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "A business model for the future - Print News | Packaging News | Wide Format news | Print | i-grafix | Australia, New Zealand and Asia". I-grafix.com. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  2. ^ "Our companies – Veralto". www.veralto.com. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  3. ^ "Graphics and Purup-Eskofot to merge". Barco.com. 2001-09-07. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  4. ^ "Esko-Graphics continues packaging growth strategy with Danish private equity investment company Axcel". Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
  5. ^ "Esko and Artwork Systems to Join Forces to Consolidate Packaging Strengths | Package Design". Packagedesignmag.com. 2009-10-19. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  6. ^ "Package deal - Print News | Packaging News | Wide Format news | Print | i-grafix | Australia, New Zealand and Asia". I-grafix.com. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  7. ^ "Esko Acquires Artwork Systems". Label and Narrow Web. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  8. ^ "Classic PitStop developer Enfocus Software acquired by Artwork Systems". Planetpdf.com. 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  9. ^ Will Daley (2011-01-20). "Danaher to Acquire EskoArtwork for 350 Million Euros". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  10. ^ "Esko Buys Cape Systems". 6 September 2013.
  11. ^ "Esko to Acquire Mediabeacon".
  12. ^ "Esko Acquires Blue Software". 20 July 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  13. ^ Corporation, Danaher (2023-09-30). "Danaher Corporation Completes Separation of Veralto Corporation". www.prnewswire.com. Archived from the original on 2023-10-01. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
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