The Handheld Group, a manufacturer of rugged PDAs and mobile devices, strengthens its presence in the important German, Austrian and Swiss markets with the acquisition of the hardware division of its distribution partner Latschbacher. Handheld says it is the fastest growing maker of rugged handheld devices in the world, rapidly gaining market share for its smartly designed and cutting edge rugged notebooks, laptops and PDAs. Handheld has acquired TimbaTec, a supplier of rugged mobile computers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from Latschbacher. Latschbacher is a supplier of computers, software and RFID tagging equipment for the forest industry, and Handheld’s existing distribution partner in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Handheld will turn TimbaTec into two new companies, Handheld Germany and Handheld Swiss, which both will be fully owned by Handheld Group. TimbaTec’s annual revenues are today some $4 million. Handheld has gained market share for its range of smartly designed and cutting edge rugged notebooks, laptops and PDAs eight years running and was recently named as one of the 100 most innovative technology companies in the world. The new offices in Germany and Switzerland will be number seven and eight alongside the group’s existing offices in Sweden (headquarters), Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia and the USA.The mining industry uses handheld computers to handle timekeeping, vehicle tracking, maintenance, supplies deliveries and real-time communication with the back office. The advantages over a paper-based system are obvious: data collectors greatly streamline job functions, data errors are reduced and labour costs are minimised.
Mining takes place in harsh environment, so the computer solution has to be tough enough to withstand challenges like vibrations, dust, moisture and temperature fluctuations. Some Handheld products that are well suitable for the mining and drilling business: Nautiz X7, Algiz 7, Algiz XRW, Nomad.
“This is a strategically very important acquisition for the Handheld Group”, said Jerker Hellström, CEO of Handheld Group. “The German speaking markets are the largest and most important markets for rugged mobile computers in Europe, and we believe that we can accelerate our growth in Central Europe by applying our successful and proven business and marketing models to these two new subsidiaries.”
“With TimbaTec we get a very competent team, and a valuable network of existing clients right from the start. TimbaTec has been providing Central European customers with rugged solutions for many years, and their commitment to their customers is in line with our core values.”
Handheld Germany will be managed by Helmut Feurhuber and Handheld Swiss will have Andreas Hitz at the helm. As a result of the acquisition, Handheld will have local service centres in Germany and Switzerland.
