Dataline continues European growth with acquisition of Arkki ERP software from Loiston (Finland)
18 September 2023
Dataline recently acquired Arkki, an ERP software solution for print production companies, from Finnish group Loiston. With this acquisition, Dataline is taking an important step to strengthen its position in the Nordics.
Arkki: a Solid Reputable Software Solution
For more than 30 years, Arkki ERP has had a strong reputation among Finnish print production companies. Arkki provides a solution for calculation, administration and production workflows, financial management and reporting for print and publishing companies. Arkki integrates easily with other software and is also available as a cloud service.
Loiston's support
Loiston is a stellar Finnish developer of various vertical ERP applications. The entire Loiston team is behind the acquisition and support Dataline in their ambitions.
Hanne Strandvall-Oliva, CEO of Loiston, says: "At Loiston, we always have our customer’s best interest in mind. This time we realized that it was the best option forward to partner up and cooperate in this niche sector with an innovative partner like Dataline. Our cooperation will bring the benefit of scale to the market which will hugely benefit our current customers and the whole graphics and print industry in Finland for years to come. We are confident that our graphics customers are in the right hands and that Dataline's future developments will benefit our customers. We are working as partners with Dataline to ensure a seamless transition and to guide their journey in the Nordics."
In addition to both parties being leading software developers, both also have a mutual interest in furthering sustainability matters. Today, the environmental impact of the printing industry is a major concern for print producers, substrate and paper suppliers and end users. That is why Dataline focuses its software development on this and with results: in 2023, Dataline received - for the 5th time in a row - the European Digital Press Award, this time for the MultiPress CO2 calculator. This allows the CO2 emissions of a printing order to be described very precisely at the level of each quotation and order.
Dataline in Finland and in Europe
Dataline has already built up a nice customer portfolio in Finland that includes one of Finland's largest printing companies: PunaMusta.
At PunaMusta, Dataline's ERP/MIS software - MultiPress - is used daily by more than 300 employees in 6 branches of the 600-employee publishing house and print production group Punamusta. Throughout Europe, Dataline has more than 1,000 installations in 26 countries with more than 10,000 daily users of this software.
A new chapter for Arkki
The Arkki specialists at Loiston will use their expertise to introduce MultiPress into the Finnish printing industry.
Nothing will change for existing Arkki customers: together with the current specialists within Loiston, Dataline will continue to support existing customers. In the future, the current Arkki customers will have the opportunity to receive a complimentary customer specific analysis to see if a better alternative can be found within the Dataline solutions that more closely matches the customers' needs.
The exchange of expertise and the acceleration of innovative developments benefits all customers. With the addition of Arkki users to the customer portfolio, Dataline is taking another big step forward. This way, they meet the needs of print production companies in the Northern European market and grow in areas where the demand for modern ERP solutions is clearly present.
Dirk Deroo, CEO of Dataline, emphasises the importance of the Arkki acquisition: "Our vision for European growth in the print production sector remains as strong as ever. We aim to expand in markets where innovative software solutions can make a difference. The Finnish graphics industry is among the top in Europe, and the Arkki acquisition fits perfectly into this vision."
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