CICERO — JADAK LLC, a Cicero–based technology supplier, on Jan. 5 announced that it plans to acquire the assets of Woburn, Massachusetts–based ThingMagic.
JADAK is paying $20 million in cash to purchase the company’s assets, says Jeffrey Pine, VP of strategy and product management at JADAK.
He expects the transaction to close by the end of first quarter. Pine spoke to CNYBJ on Jan. 10.
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The Cicero firm, which operates at 7279 William Barry Blvd., specializes in machine vision, RFID, barcode, printing, and color and light measurement products and services for original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
RFID, which is short for radio frequency identification, is a method of collecting and sharing data, much like a bar code, but it’s a wireless form of a barcode, according to Pine.
The E-ZPass that drivers use on the New York State Thruway and other toll roads is a form of RFID technology, he notes.
JADAK is a division of Bedford, Massachusetts–based Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVT), a supplier of technology products for industrial and health-care OEMs.
ThingMagic provides ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID reader modules and finished RFID products for OEMs servicing the medical, retail, logistics, and airline industries, JADAK said.
The company started discussions with ThingMagic in May of last year.
ThingMagic has 13 full-time employees who Pine says will move to JADAK’s facility in Bedford, Massachusetts.
Besides the firm’s employees, JADAK is also acquiring the ThingMagic product line, product design, patents, and intellectual property, he says.
Deal rationale
Pine says JADAK saw ThingMagic as a “leader” in the RFID industry.
“They had a really good name, and that’s why we went after them,” he explains.
JADAK pursued the asset acquisition to add to its product offerings, based on the different frequencies of RFID, says Pine.
The frequencies include HF, or high frequency, and UHF.
In late 2015, JADAK acquired SkyeTek, a Denver, Colorado–based provider of embedded and standalone HF and UHF RFID products for OEM (original-equipment manufacturer) suppliers.
SkyeTek’s product line primarily focuses on HF RFID frequencies.
“ThingMagic has a wide range of UHF, by acquiring those assets and those products, we now have the widest range of HF and UHF-embedded modules to help our customers add RFID to their products,” says Pine.
The pending transaction would mark JADAK’s second acquisition in the RFID market, following its 2015 purchase of SkyeTek the company noted in a news release.
ThingMagic has been operating as a division of Sunnyvale, California–based Trimble, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRMB), a firm that “integrates a wide range of positioning technologies including GPS, laser, optical and inertial technologies with application software, wireless communications, and services,” according to its website.
A group of Ph.D. graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology founded ThingMagic in 2000, according to the JADAK release.
“Combining ThingMagic’s products and services with the JADAK offerings enables us to provide our customers with enhanced UHF and desktop reader products, while adding a line of finished reader products,” Janie Goddard, president of JADAK, said in the release. “JADAK is committed to providing our healthcare equipment manufacturer customers with market leadership, advanced technology and products, and engineering expertise in the embedded RFID and finished reader markets. Together we will continue to innovate and deliver industry-leading RFID solutions for our customers. With the combination of Skyetek HF products and ThingMagic UHF products, JADAK has the broadest range of RFID products in the market.”
About RFID
JADAK says RFID technology has “emerged over the last decade as an efficient means of detecting and tracking” retail products, medical consumables, airline baggage, and many other types of tangible goods.
RFID can be used as an “alternative” to barcode technology in applications where line of sight to the object being tracked is not available or desired, or when data stored on the object requires modification by the reader.