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Zebra Technologies Acquires Multispectral Solutions, Inc.
Leader in Ultra Wideband technology adds
to Zebra’s portfolio
Vernon Hills, IL, April 16, 2008
─ Zebra Technologies
Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) today announced the acquisition of
Multispectral Solutions, Inc. (MSSI). Based in
“MSSI’s products and technology are an excellent complement to
Zebra’s Gen 2 passive RFID and other active RFID products,” said
John Dillon, senior vice president of Zebra Technologies and general
manager of Zebra Enterprise Solutions Group. “With a strong reputation for
quality and innovation, UWB technology from MSSI is particularly
attractive for its locating precision and cost advantages in
challenging industrial environments. It will enable us to provide
more solutions for our customers to identify, track and manage
assets, people and transactions.”
MSSI products,
including its Sapphire DART real-time locating system, are currently
used in manufacturing, distribution, retail and government in a
broad range of asset and personnel tracking applications. MSSI
systems are deployed to locate personnel in high-risk environments,
such as refineries, for greater industrial safety. Other important
MSSI applications include the location and tracking of high-value
corporate IT assets in large-scale data centers and the tracking of
inventories, material handling equipment and parts in complex
manufacturing environments.
Founded in 1988 by Dr.
Robert J. Fontana, a Fellow of the IEEE, award-winning MSSI is a
pioneer in the development and commercialization of UWB, a radio
technology. Using very low energy for short-range, high-bandwidth
communications, UWB can be used to locate items with accuracy from
one foot to within inches. It is ideally suited for use in
electronically “noisy” environments such as factories, warehouses
and computer room installations because of UWB’s ability to
withstand interference caused by radio signal reflection off metal
and other surfaces. The small size, low cost and long battery life
of UWB transmitters make solutions incorporating UWB technology an
excellent choice for real-time location of multiple assets or people
for safety and security purposes.
“As part of Zebra Technologies, we will be able to accelerate
the development and deployment of our UWB-based solutions,” stated
Dr. Fontana. “Zebra’s financial strength, global reach and deep
domain expertise in several industries make it the ideal
organization with which to move forward.”
Zebra Enterprise Solutions Group was formed from the
acquisitions of Navis, proveo and WhereNet in 2007. This business
unit of Zebra Technologies demonstrates Zebra’s leadership in
providing complete solutions for asset tracking, location, and
optimization needs in the global supply chain.
Zebra Technologies Corporation helps companies identify, track
and manage assets, transactions and people with on-demand specialty
digital printing and automatic identification solutions. In more
than 100 countries around the world, more than 90 percent of Fortune
500 companies use innovative and reliable Zebra printers, supplies,
RFID products and software to increase productivity, improve
quality, lower costs, and deliver better customer service.
Information about Zebra and Zebra-brand
products can be found at
http://www.zebra.com.
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