VUTEk rumor from Krahulec is false

There appears to be no truth to a public statement made by Councilor Judy Krahulec (Ward 1) at the City Council meeting Wednesday night, that VUTEk, Inc., a manufacturing firm headquartered here, is either closing or moving its operations with a resulting loss of some 275 jobs.

Jane Cedrone, who manages corporate communications and public relations at VUTEk, said yesterday that the company was in the process of being acquired by Electronics for Imaging, Inc. (EFI) of Foster City, California, which has expressed its intention of continuing operations in Meredith. Officials from EFI did not return telephone calls yesterday.

Krahulec conceded after the council meeting that she had no real inside information about the situation at VUTEk. She said that a constituent, who is a vendor to VUTEk, left a message on her answering machine saying that he was told his services would no longer be needed because the company was closing its Meredith facility. The same constituent, she said, touted the news that a number of Laconia residents were going to lose well-paid jobs as another reason to rein in school spending.

VUTEk manufactures superwide format digital inkjet printers for the graphic arts market, where they serve a variety of advertising applications, including billboards, banners, displays and posters. EFI began by designing software to transform digital copiers and printers into networked printing devices and now develops software solutions for commercial printing markets.

VUTEk has about 330 employees, 275 of them in Meredith between its manufacturing facility and a subsidiary, Inkware, Inc, which makes ink exclusively for inkjet printers. In 2004 VUTEk, which is owned by American Security, a New York investment firm, reported revenues of $130 million.

In 2004, EFI employed 1,414 people between its headquarters in Silicon Valley and 25 offices around the world. Traded on the NASDAQ exchange since 1992, EFI reported earnings of $38-million on revenues of $394.6-million in 2004.

Eliza Leadbeater, executive director of the Belknap County Economic Development Council, said that she had spoken with management at VUTEk about the pending acquisition. "From my discussions, management views the partnership with EFI as a opportunity for the company to grow and expand," she said. "The future for VUTEk looks bright in the Lakes Region."

EFI announced on April 14 that it had agreed to acquire VUTEk for approximately $281-million in cash. Company officials said the transaction would close in July or August.

At the time the sale was announced, VUTEk co-founder Art Cleary — who still works for the company as chief technology officer — was quoted as saying both the company's customers and employees would benefit from EFI's "culture of innovation".

Cedrone said Cleary would remain on-board as a consultant after the sale to EFI has been completed.

Krahulec's pronouncement at the council meeting was the second time on Wednesday The Daily Sun had heard "news" of VUTEk's departure. The first report was correctly labeled for it was, a "rumor".

(Ed Engler contributed to this report.)