Mortsel, Belgium - 8 June 2006, 5.40 p.m. CET
Agfa Graphics announced today that it plans to close down its Lastra plate factory in Sulmona. The intention to close the Sulmona factory, which exclusively produces positive analogue offset plates, is a result of the declining demand for such plates and the rapid conversion to digital plate systems.
After having considered all options to keep the factory operational, Agfa Graphics has now informed Sulmona's 121 employees as well as the trade unions that the Sulmona's factory workload will be transferred to Lastra's Manerbio site, also in Italy, and a redundancy plan will be developed for the 121 people that currently work in Sulmona.
About Agfa
The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world's leading imaging and information technology companies. Agfa develops, manufactures and markets analogue and digital systems for the graphics industry, the healthcare sector and specific industrial applications.
Agfa's headquarters are in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is active in 40 countries and has agents in another 100 countries throughout the world.
The Agfa-Gevaert Group achieved a turnover of 3,308 million euro in 2005.
About Agfa Graphics
Agfa Graphics offers integrated prepress solutions to the printing industry. These solutions comprise consumables, hardware, software and services for production workflow, project and colour management. Computer-to-film, computer-to-plate and digital proofing systems have earned Agfa Graphics a worldwide leadership position in the commercial and package printing and the newspaper publishing markets.
Agfa Graphics is rapidly expanding its offerings in the growing digital inkjet market. Its experience in both imaging and emulsion technology has provided the expertise required for making an assortment of high-quality UV and solvent-based inks. Joint development and manufacturing partnerships with industry leaders expand its technological reach and allow the company to develop comprehensive digital solutions for printing posters, banners, signage, displays, labels and packaging materials.
Product and company information can be found on Agfa's home page on the World Wide Web at: www.agfa.com.
Editor contact:
Agfa-Gevaert
Katia Waegemans
Director Corporate Communication
tel. ++32 (0)3/444.7124
fax. ++32 (0)3/444.4485
e-mail: katia.waegemans@agfa.com
Johan Jacobs
Corporate Press Relations Manager
tel. ++32 (0)3/444.8015
fax. ++32 (0)3/444.5005
e-mail: johan.jacobs@agfa.com
