Gerber Acquires Cutting System Company MCT Digital

Tolland, Connecticut-based Gerber Technology, which makes products serving a variety of industries, including sign and graphics; manufacturing and industrial; government; aircraft interiors; and many others, announces its purchase of New Berlin, Wisconsin-based MCT Digital, a manufacturer of digital, grand-format flatbed X/Y cutting systems.

According to Gerber, the addition of MCT’s high-end large format cutting technology builds on Gerber’s heritage in the sign, graphics and packaging industries, and gives it a key technology platform to serve its industrial markets.

Gerber goes on to say that it and MCT are both recognized as pioneers in providing integrated software and hardware solutions. Gerber’s been around for 50 years, having invented automated cutting technology in 1968, and MCT has been around 30.

In 1999 Steen Mikkelsen, through his company Mikkelsen Graphic Engineering (MGE), launched i-cut vision for digital die cutting and in 2002, launched a version for print-to-cut workflows. In 2007, MGE was sold to Danaher‘s Esko division. In 2011, Steen’s son Nik founded MCT and launched the CutGuru website for parts and consumables for finishing products. In 2016, they launched their first cutting systems along with their Tiger Vision print-to-cut software.

Earlier this year MCT announced its relocation into a new 25,000-square-foot facility in New Berlin, Wisconsin, about 15 miles from its former home in downtown Milwaukee.

“We are very excited about combining our technology platform with Gerber’s global scale to drive growth,” says Nik Mikkelson, founder and CTO, MCT Digital. “The passion, focus and culture of our two companies are very well aligned and will maintain the same standard of excellence our customers expect, and our employees’ deliver.”

Gerber Technology is owned by AIP, a New York based, global private equity firm specializing in the technology sector. It has more than $3.0 billion assets under management.