FineLine acquires South African barcode tag provider

NORCROSS, Ga. — Tire barcode label maker FineLine Technologies Inc. has acquired Traderplus Pty. Ltd., a Durban, South Africa-based service bureau provider of barcode tags and labels, expanding its reach to South Africa and China.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

Norcross-based FineLine, which offers 36-hour turnaround times for North American and European retailers, will now serve South Africa, Australia and China, as well as several European markets, with the acquisition of Traderplus.

FineLine's Chairman and CEO George Hoffman said the acquisition enhances the firm's product and service offering and "brings us closer to our goal of becoming the world's premier barcode and RFID tag and label service bureau."

Mr. Hoffman said FineLine's FASTtrak integrated online platform will be available to retailers in South Africa, Australia and China. According to FineLine, FASTtrak optimizes order placement, tracking and rapid turnaround and provides customers with visibility into PO details and analytics.

Mr. Hoffman said FASTrak helps FineLine deliver retail tickets, RFID and barcode labels to more than 45,000 customers worldwide. "It enables our retail customers to more effectively and accurately manage their global supply chains," Mr. Hoffman said.

Traderplus Co-founders Dudley Cherry and Stephen Baverstock said FineLine and Traderplus both offer fast production speed and innovation for retail supply chain ticketing. This, Mr. Cherry said, "makes the combination of the two companies an especially effective resource for our customers worldwide."

This mark's FineLine's second acquisition in less than a year.

Last October,the company acquired Data2 Corp., a St. Louis-based global service bureau provider of barcode and RFID tags and labels in an effort to expand its portfolio to include advanced barcoding and RFID-enabling technologies for hard-to-tag products in the retail and other industrial supply chains.