Mimaki leading manufacturer of wide-format inkjet printers and cutting machines for the sign/graphics, textile/apparel and industrial markets is all set to acquire La Meccanica Costruzione Tessilli, an Italian textile machine manufacturer as it would expand their position in the textiles printing market.

The acquisition was first mooted in July 2015, when an Italian sales agent introduced Mimaki to La Meccanica, a manufacturer of conventional and digital textile printing machines located in Bergamo, Italy established in 1977. It has 32 staff and a turnover of €6m (£4.6m).

Bergamo is also the home of competitor industrial inkjet textile printer manufacturer Reggiani Macchine, which was acquired by EFI in July last year.

The Japanese wide-format manufacturer announced to the Japanese stock market in December that it had signed a letter of intent to buy all the company's stocks.

The conclusion of the formal agreement is expected to take place by the beginning of March.

Mimaki, which develops and manufactures industrial inkjet printers and distributes them throughout the world, said that the acquisition would further expand its European textile and apparel market share.

The company said that it was unable to say anything more about the potential impact of the acquisition until the deal is completed.

Last week the company also unveiled the super-wide format TS500P-3200 inkjet printer, a dedicated transfer paper printer for the textile industry, with applications including home furnishing textiles and indoor soft signage. The machine will be available from February.

Mimaki EMEA general marketing manager Mike Horsten said that Mimaki has been involved in textile since 1998 and with all the products they showed at [international textile manufacturer trade fair] ITMA and the introductions they’ve been doing in the textile arena, they’re really showing their commitment to the industry for the long term.

Textile in general – fashion, home interiors and soft signage – are all giving them tremendous growth in different areas; soft signage in western Europe, fashion in eastern and Asian countries and home interiors in Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

The company is serious in textile and they want to continue to be successful in this area and capitalise on the fantastic market growth.