Equipment

Dover Corporation has merged its Markem and Imaje coding and marking divisions to create a larger product identification business.

Markem, based in New Hampshire, US, and Imaje, based in Bourg-Lès-Valence, France, will now be known as Markem.Imaje.

Dover has named Serge Kral as president of the newly created business.

US-based Dover Corporation bought Markem last year. It has continued to trade under its own name, run independently from Dover by the existing management team. The firm employs more than 1,200 people worldwide and has annual sales of around £400m.

Imaje was founded in 1982, and employs more than 1,800 people worldwide and posted sales of more than £165m in 2004.

Dover product identification group president Omar Kerbage said the senior management teams of Markem and Imaje had been discussing opportunities for co-operation between the two companies since December 2006.

"The conclusion was to form one business in order to increase the value provided to both our customers and shareholders," he said.

Dover's product identification division also includes barcode and RFID print kit specialist Datamax, based in Florida, and California-based thermal bar code label printer supplier O'Neill.

Dover reported earnings of £242.2m on a turnover of £2.7bn in the nine months to 30 September 2007.