Amstrad Plc’s plans to save IBM Corp’s Jrflla, Sweden cast-off Jrflla Industry Competence Centre AB from receivership have fallen through (CI No 2,634). The Brentwood, Essex company said it was unable to agree terms and conditions with the receiver of the company, which collapsed just a year after it was cut loose by IBM Europe. But Amstrad said it was still interested in the piezo-electric print head technology the Swedish firm has been developing and may go for a licensing deal. However, this technology, the manufacturing plant and around 40 employees have now been bought by Dallas, Texas-based Nu-Kote Holding Inc, a company best known for selling replacement parts for printers, facsimile machines and photocopiers, which now wants to challenge Canon Inc and its BubbleJet thermal inkjet process. It won’t integrate printers itself, rather selling the heads OEM to manufacturers, who will share development costs. The piezo-electric technology, in contrast to Canon’s technology, means the print head can last for the lifetime of a copier, Nu-Kote claims. Products using the new technology could be on the market within six months. It is not disclosing what it paid for the business other than to say it was steeply discounted. The Dallas company says it intends to use the technology to develop its own products, but may also be in the business of licensing it. Earlier in the year it acquired the hard copy supplies business and research and development facilities of Swiss firm Pelikan AG, in its bid to create new products.
