In a move that will play to each company’s strengths and enable EFI and Fiery to serve their customers better and grow over the long-term, the two companies will become separate entities, although still under the ownership of Siris Capital Group LLC.
EFI and Fiery will have distinct areas of strategic focus: EFI as an industrial inkjet leader and Fiery as the leading digital front-end (DFE) provider. Jeff Jacobson, a 35-year veteran of the digital imaging sector who led EFI as CEO following its 2019 take-private by Siris, will remain Executive Chairman of each business, while Frank Pennisi has been appointed EFI’s new CEO.
“This realignment positions both EFI, now solely focused on digital inkjet for industrial applications, and Fiery, the leading global DFE provider, to win in their independent markets while maintaining the close partnership that has contributed to the success of each business. Digital imaging would not be where it is today without Fiery. Operating as a standalone company will only further strengthen Fiery’s market-leading position in providing innovative DFE solutions. Similarly, no company in the industry can match the depth and breadth of EFI’s industrial inkjet portfolio and I am looking forward to this next chapter of growth under Frank’s leadership,” said Jacobson.
EFI to operate as an industrial inkjet pure-play
Frank Pennisi will be solely focused on driving the analogue-to-digital transition across the packaging and corrugated, display graphics, textile and building materials/décor end-markets for industrial inkjet. He comes to EFI from Orora Packaging Solutions, a leading provider of custom packaging solutions with an emphasis on corrugated. While managing Orora Packaging Solutions as its President and CEO, he was an EFI customer, using EFI’s industry-leading Nozomi single-pass inkjet, super-high-speed digital printer.
His experience with EFI solutions extends to the close collaboration and consulting he has done with Orora Packaging’s sister company, Orora Visual – a leading display graphics provider that is among the largest North American users of EFI VUTEk display graphics and EFI Reggiani industrial textile digital printers. Previously, Pennisi spent two decades in leadership positions at FLIR Systems (now Teledyne FLIR), Honeywell and GE.
“As a former customer, I know that EFI’s digital industrial inkjet portfolio is unmatched in the industry,” said Pennisi. “The company’s suite of equipment, inks and intelligent service positions it to address its customers’ most critical needs. I am thrilled to be joining EFI at this pivotal moment as the industry transitions toward digital inkjet.”
Fiery to drive digital print innovation
As an independent company, the market-leading Fiery business will continue to provide industry-leading DFE technology for digital production and industrial printing. Toby Weiss, long-time Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Fiery, will continue to lead the business as CEO of Fiery.
“Fiery will remain focused on working closely with our OEM partners, including the EFI Inkjet business, to continue developing cutting-edge technology that drives the next generation of automation, accuracy and profit potential in digital printing,” said Weiss. “We look forward to accelerating our investment as a standalone company while driving our expanding product portfolio, incorporating world-class colour algorithms and developing advanced cloud technology.”
For more information on EFI and Fiery products visit EFI and Fiery
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Frank Pennisi has been appointed EFI’s new CEO