EFI ‘Connects’ With 500 of Its Users

LAS VEGAS—EFI’s acquisition of MIS competitor Pace Systems Group for approximately $21 million in cash came as a surprise announcement during EFI’s Connect 2008 users group meeting held recently at the Wynn Las Vegas.

Marc Olin, senior vice president and general manager of EFI Advanced Professional Print Software (APPS), made the revelation to the more than 500 clients attending the ninth annual Connect conference.

The browser-based ePace print management solution will by renamed EFI Pace and will eventually replace EFI’s PSI and Logic platforms (which will continue to be supported by EFI in maintenance mode). EFI Pace is geared toward the mid-market segment, largely comprising shops with $2 million to $20+ million in sales.

EFI also debuted EFI Monarch, a solution targeted toward large single and multi-plant printing operations. It combines Hagen OA’s MIS toolset, the capabilities of Prograph for production planning and JDF control, PrintFlow for dynamic scheduling and optimization, and Auto-Count for shop floor data collection via direct machine interface.

EFI PrintSmith will continue as an MIS offering for copy shops, on-demand, quick and small commercial printers.

During a general session, EFI CEO Guy Gecht interviewed Jacques Mallette, president and CEO of Quebecor World, who said most of the printer’s financial woes stemmed from its former operations in Europe.

Mallette also contended that M&A activity among printers will persist. “Our customers continue to consolidate, so their suppliers will also continue to consolidate,” he noted.