Cincinnati, OH, May 11, 2007 – Kiwiplan a leading provider of integrated solutions for manufacturers of corrugated boxes and other packaging today announced the sale of the company to Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW), a publicly-traded Fortune 500 company. The company will continue to operate under the Kiwiplan name and maintain its current global staff and New Zealand-based development team. While the transaction is expected to be transparent to Kiwiplan’s many customers, the company will benefit from the strength and worldwide presence of ITW.
“We are delighted to welcome Kiwiplan to the ITW family of companies,” said Steve Cole, senior vice president of strategy for Click Commerce, Inc., the ITW business unit that managed the acquisition. “Kiwiplan has an excellent management team, a strong product delivery history and a leadership position in its market. We look forward to working with the Kiwiplan team to continue to serve their customers and expand both the products offered and the markets that they serve.”
Jim Walton, formerly President of Kiwiplan Americas, has been appointed general manager of Kiwiplan and will have responsibility for the company’s global operations including offices in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. “The acquisition of Kiwiplan by ITW is good news for our customers and our employees,” said Walton. “Joining with ITW ensures that we’ll be able to maintain the same high levels of service and product leadership that our customers have come to expect from us while giving our employees the security of working for one of the world’s most admired companies.”
SVB Alliant acted as financial advisor and Bell Gully of Auckland, New Zealand acted as legal counsel to Kiwiplan; Merrick Venture Partners provided acquisition advisory services and Quigg Partners of Wellington, New Zealand, acted as legal counsel to ITW in this transaction.
About Kiwiplan
Kiwiplan has over 30 years experience in the development of highly specialized software designed for the corrugating and packaging industry. In this short time Kiwiplan has become a true global presence delivering enterprise-wide, fully automatic integrated systems for supply chain management, sales order management, scheduling and planning, manufacturing, inventory control, and consulting services. Kiwiplan has a development team of 100 people and nearly 100 staff in support, sales, and training functions. Operating in 18 languages, Kiwiplan products are installed in over 450 plants in 27 countries, including a majority of the world’s largest fully integrated corrugating companies.
About ITW
Illinois Tool Works or ITW (NYSE: ITW) is a Fortune 500 company that produces engineered fasteners and components, equipment and consumable systems, and specialty products. It employs nearly 55,000 people in 750 business units, and is based in Glenview, Illinois, with operations in 49 countries.