SLAC announced in May that they are in advanced discussions concerning the acquisition of Intercan Group. Under the planned agreement Peter Strode, the current owner of Intercan will continue as Managing Director of Intercan Group, a key provider to the metal can decorator industry, notably of the IPP8 beverage can and aerosol proofing machine. The acquisition, which is subject to certain conditions is expected to be complete by the end of July this year.

Shu An, Chairman and Managing Director of SLAC said 'We will be very happy to welcome Peter Strode and his Intercan Group into the SLAC family in the near future. Peter is a recognized industry expert in this field and we will benefit enormously from his intimate knowledge of decorators and decorating equipment. Our beverage can and aerosol customers are seeing a multiplication of the number of designs they are expected to print, so the need for a high quality proofing machine has never been so great. This is a product line that we believe in and will be supporting and developing world-wide in the coming months. After Corima in Italy and SLAC Precision Equipment Americas in the United States, Intercan is a further step in our strategy of serving our customers internationally and broadening our product range.'

Peter Strode said 'Although we operate in the same market, Intercan Group's business is complementary to SLAC'S and under the new ownership structure we will continue to provide the same high quality products and services that customers expect from us, from our existing base in Milton Keynes. At the same time I am excited about the development possibilities that SLAC brings to the business and very happy to be part of SLAC'S plans for future growth.'

Suzhou SLAC Precision Equipment Co Ltd is a supplier of high speed equipment to beverage can, food can and metal aerosol manufacturers, based in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, P.R.C. with subsidiary companies in Ferrara Italy (Corima International) and Dayton USA (SLAC Precision Equipment Americas).

Intercan Group is a specialist in can decorating technology, and a provider of proofing machines and decorating equipment based in Milton Keyes, UK.

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