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Ricoh Acquires Avanti

Ricoh today announced its acquisition of Toronto-based Avanti Computer Systems, which has been a leading developer of Management Information Systems dedicated to the printing industry for approximately three decades.

In July 2013, Ricoh made a strategic investment in Avanti as the MIS developer was preparing to launch its new generation Avanti Slingshot solution, which was released in the fall of that year at Graph Expo. One of the most-advanced MIS products in today’s print market, Slingshot was built around a completely new coding infrastructure and the MIS sector’s highest level of JDF certification for automation.

Avanti’s Slingshot product, which can be cloud-based or hosted onsite, was in development for over three years before its launch, built from the ground-up to handle multiple lines of business, including large-format inkjet, toner and offset lithography, mailing and fulfillment workflows, as well as creative, marketing and data management services from one platform. The development of Avanti Slingshot was featured as the cover story of PrintAction’s August 2013 issue, The Slingshot Effect.)

“We are committed to continual portfolio advancements aimed at helping our customers grow their businesses and improve their efficiency,” said Jeff Paterra, Senior VP and GM, Technology & Solutions Development, Ricoh, about the Avanti acquisition. “We know that in order to achieve this, they need complete solutions which address their business needs. While our Ricoh Pro Series continues to grow market share globally thanks to its high quality and high productivity, customers look to Ricoh to resolve wider issues surrounding upstream and downstream systems. Our acquisition of Avanti helps us more effectively do just that.”
 
Previously, Ricoh acquired MarcomCentral (formerly known as PTI Marketing Technologies) in December 2014, a move to help build the company’s position in providing Web to print, marketing asset management, and variable data printing tools. With the addition of Avanti, Ricoh explains the acquisition of Avanti enables its software portfolio to cover the entire production workflow.

“Ricoh’s initial strategic investment in Avanti three years ago gave us an unparalleled opportunity to advance product development and further deliver innovative MIS solutions,” said Patrick Bolan, President of Avanti. “The acquisition by Ricoh sets the stage for Avanti to accelerate growth into the global marketplace.”