Two major players in the UV curing systems industry, Air Motion Systems, Inc. (AMS) and Baldwin Technology Company, Inc., are merging their expertise to become a leading provider of UV and LED curing technology. Baldwin has acquired Air Motion Systems, a provider of LED UV curing technology for the graphic arts industry. The new entity of Baldwin, will rebrand as AMS Spectral UV and combine AMS with Baldwin’s UV division. AMS Spectral UV locations will continue to grow their operations in River Falls, Wisconsin; Easton, Pennsylvania; and Slough, UK.
“This acquisition marks the beginning of a new era in providing high-performance solutions for the UV industry,” said AMS Spectral UV President, Steve Metcalf. “We’re bringing the top industry minds, technology and experience together to tap an opportunity in LED and UV and to serve an ever-widening range of markets and applications.”
The AMS LED UV product portfolio suits sheetfed offset printing and flexo packaging printing. Complementing this technology, Baldwin’s UV division has vast experience in highly reactive UV curing and numerous LED applications outside of traditional print markets. “What AMS Spectral UV will provide customers is a doubling of research and development, engineering, manufacturing capacity and service to meet their growing needs in the market,” said Pat Keogh, one of the commercial leaders of AMS Spectral UV. “We are proud to continue to offer innovative solutions in a new world being driven by the rapid advancement in UV and LED curing technologies.”
According to market intelligence provider, Yole Development, the total value of the UV LED market worldwide is projected to grow to US$1 billion-plus in the next five years. AMS Spectral UV aims to capture a large share of the anticipated market by leveraging the scale and resources of Baldwin which, through its global footprint, supplies process-automation equipment and related consumables, parts and services for the print, film, corrugated, textile and paper packaging industries.
“The establishment of AMS Spectral UV strengthens our ability to provide value to our existing customers while remaining responsive to emerging market opportunities,” said Brent Becker, CEO of Baldwin. “This exciting investment underscores our commitment to a strategy that blends organic and acquisition growth to enhance our global footprint and the technology we can deliver to our customers.”
