Whitech sells 35 percent of company to Fujifilm

Local electronic point of sale solutions and photographic digital kiosk home ordering developer, Whitech has sold 35 percent of the company to Fujifilm Holdings Australasia.

Whitech was established in 1995 by Steve Dalwanez to provide specialised industry specific and customised point of sale solutions. It owns and develops all the software products sold in Australia and internationally.

Dalnewez said the developer was in talks with FujiFilm since October of last year before the vendor bought the shares.

"It took a while for the deal to come to realisation because the Australasia office was waiting for approval from Japan," he said.

According Dalwanez, the deal would give Whitech greater marketshare because Fujifilm also had a partnership with Whitech's competitor, Axiom.

"We'll be able to pick up more businesses exclusively from this deal. We will also use the deals to leverage international deals like with Fuji Europe," he said.

Whitech’s suite of Photo.Teller software is marketed with Fujifilm’s Digital Photo Centre (DPC) kiosks which are now the most popular method consumers use to order photographs in Australian retail stores, said Steve Delnawaz, managing director and founder at Whitech.

Mike Machida, CEO at Fujifilm Holdings Australasia said the acquisition announcement was part of the organisation’s ongoing global business development and expansion strategy.

“Fujifilm has maintained a strong business relationship with Whitech throughout the development of the Fujifilm Digital Printing Model, so the organisation’s acquisition of an equity interest in Whitech was a natural progression,” he said.

Incorporating Whitech software with Fujifilm’s DPC kiosks has enabled consumers to edit images for immediate in-store printing and will also enable the ordering of a range of photo gifting products.

“These products include fully-bound hard or soft cover Photo Books, Story
Books, large canvas prints, personalised stationery, calendars, key rings, mugs, t-shirts and much more,” said Machida.

Whitech (DPC) kiosk software can also be customised for each retailer’s needs to accommodate all workflow management and output capabilities, he said.