Who Owns Linx?

Linx was founded in 1979 in St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. The company was established to develop and manufacture continuous inkjet (CIJ) printing systems for product identification and coding applications in manufacturing and packaging environments. Continuous inkjet printing is a non-contact printing technology that uses electrically charged ink droplets to print variable information such as date codes, batch numbers, barcodes, and other product identification data directly onto products and packaging at high speeds on production lines.

Product identification and coding is a critical requirement for manufacturers across food and beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, electronics, and industrial sectors. Regulatory requirements in many countries mandate that products carry date codes, lot numbers, and other traceability information, creating a large and stable market for product identification equipment. Linx's CIJ printers were designed to meet these requirements reliably in demanding manufacturing environments.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Linx expanded its product portfolio and geographic reach, developing a range of CIJ printer models for different production line speeds, substrate types, and environmental conditions. The company established a distribution and service network in the United Kingdom and internationally, building customer relationships with food and beverage manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and other industrial customers.

Linx developed a reputation for reliability and ease of use in its CIJ printers, which are required to operate continuously in demanding manufacturing environments with minimal downtime. The company's focus on product quality and customer service helped it build a loyal customer base in the United Kingdom and internationally.

In addition to CIJ printing, Linx expanded its product portfolio to include laser coding systems, which use laser beams to mark products and packaging without ink, and thermal inkjet (TIJ) systems, which use disposable ink cartridges for lower-volume coding applications. This multi-technology approach allowed Linx to serve customers across a wider range of coding applications and production environments.

In 2014, Danaher Corporation acquired Linx as part of its product identification portfolio. Danaher's product identification business, centered on the Videojet brand, is one of the world's largest providers of product identification and coding equipment. The Linx acquisition added complementary CIJ and laser coding capabilities to Danaher's product identification portfolio, expanding the company's geographic reach and customer base in the United Kingdom and other markets where Linx had strong positions.

Following the acquisition, Linx continued to operate under its established brand identity within Danaher's Environmental and Applied Solutions segment. Danaher applied its proprietary Danaher Business System (DBS) continuous improvement methodology to Linx's operations, driving improvements in manufacturing efficiency, product quality, and customer service.

Under Danaher ownership, Linx has continued to develop new product identification technologies, including connected printing systems with digital connectivity for Industry 4.0 manufacturing environments, where production data and printer performance can be monitored and managed remotely.