BlueCrest acquires Fluence Automation

Postal systems supplier BlueCrest has acquired Fluence Automation for an undisclosed sum to broaden its portfolio for the e-commerce and parcels markets amid dynamic changes in customer requirements.

The US company, a leading high-volume print, mail and parcel insertion and sortation system provider, said the strategic acquisition will allow the companies to harmonize their solutions – hardware, software and imaging – and accelerate growth in the eCommerce fulfillment and Parcel sortation markets.

With this acquisition, BlueCrest now directly provides all critical solution layers to customers – application solutions with hardware, software, controls, and imaging. Fluence will become part of BlueCrest, and in the short-term will be referred to as Fluence Automation, A BlueCrest Company.

Loyal customer base

Fluence Automation offers a comprehensive, solutions-oriented, approach to servicing its large installed base of loyal customers. Their solutions set includes products for:

• Material Handling
• Letters, Parcels, Flats Sorting
• High Speed Print and Apply Labeling
• Postal Parcel Processing
• Inbound/Receiving
• Vote-by-Mail
• Verification & Inspection
• Postal Shipping / Application Software for mail, flats and parcels
• OCR software and address look-up

Expanded offering

“The acquisition of Fluence Automation is a great example of BlueCrest executing on its strategy,” said Dennis LeStrange, President and CEO of Bluecrest. “In the postal automation market, we will provide the broadest array of solutions and will be able to continue to grow in this space through product innovation both in the US and the international markets.

“Additionally, the combination of the companies’ parcel/eCommerce and Vote-by-Mail solutions will greatly expand our offering in these exciting growth markets,” he stressed.

“This is a great opportunity for both Fluence and BlueCrest,” said Mike Swift, President of Fluence. “The combination of our solutions with BlueCrest’s resources further strengthens our position in sortation technology. Our market focus has been on offering transformative automation for organizations that process mail and parcels. BlueCrest’s breadth and scale further enhances the technology and support that we can provide for our customers.”

“We are excited about the prospects of bringing these companies together,” said Platinum Equity Managing Director Adam Cooper. “This complementary acquisition is a direct reflection of our continued support of BlueCrest’s long-term objectives by investing in growth organically and through strategic M&A. We will continue to pursue further opportunities that can help BlueCrest achieve its strategic plans faster.”