While I have spoken with many of you face-to-face about this topic, I have chosen to not address it here for many reasons. First among those reasons was a desire to make sure that the merger actually happened. As of this morning visiting either the gretagmacbeth.com or xrite.com website will take you to the same page. So, we know the company name will remain X-Rite (there had been some speculation that a new name would be selected) but with a slightly different splash of color in the logo in memory of the now deceased GretagMacbeth.
I realize my choice of language in that last sentence may bother some people, but it seems pretty clear to me that going forward over some period of time the GretagMacbeth brand will cease to exist. I suspect many of the products will remain, but think about what it means to have those two brands; Gretag and Macbeth gone from the world of color forever. That, however, is the past and I have always preferred to look forward. Is the “new” X-Rite good, bad, or indifferent?
It is good. Short-term two companies with complimentary strengths and weaknesses will join as one to provide our industry with best in class tools for the measurement and manipulation of color. Near-term a new competitor will emerge to compete with the “new” X-Rite. This new competitor will need to be formidable. The stable of products and people that X-Rite will have will require a first class opponent. Do I know who that opponent will be? No, I really do not think any of us do. Many of us have some pretty good ideas who that will be and what that company will look like. It is, however, too soon for predictions of that type (at least in this space).
I would like to conclude with three comments;
- In over 20 years in the color game I have made many friends. Many of you work for the “new” X-Rite, and I wish you each as individuals all the best.
- We look forward to working with the “new” X-Rite just as we have worked with the two prior companies.
- If you are a ColorMetrix customer, please rest assured that we will continue to support all the instruments we have supported in the past, and add new instruments to our library as they become available.
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