Nela Acquires Prepress Equipment Maker M+A Pass-System

By: E&P Staff Nela, in Lahr, Germany, and Oakdale, Minn., announced today that it has acquired the assets of M+A Pass-System GmbH, a prepress equipment maker based in Burscheid that had become insolvent.

While Nela is active in the newspaper, commercial web and sheetfed markets, M+A has specialized in automatic register punching, sheering and bending systems for offset plates for the web market, focusing on Europe's high-quality, high-volume printers.

"The acquisition is a great chance to offer our customers even better and more comprehensive services," Frank Neumeister, general manager of Nela Germany, said in a statement. Citing the Goss Sunday 5000 and 96-page MAN Roland Lithoman to be shown at Drupa, "Neumeister added, "The trend towards even larger plate formats on the new printing presses ... also requires increased automation of plate production."

Contributing more than 30 years of expertise previous M+A President Ronald Metje becomes Nela's new commercial web sales manager and will continue to counsel national and international customers in prepress system solutions.

Nela said it will transfer all operations from M+A facilities in Burscheid and Leichlingen to its own headquarters in Lahr and will continue to service M+A customers.

Nela earlier acquired Ternes Register Systems, the Western Lithotech punch-bender assets from Agfa (and Lith-X-Pozer service) and, last year, the Stoesser register punch and bender products from Olec Corp.