CICERO — JADAK, LLC, a Cicero–based technology supplier, has acquired the assets of Denver, Colorado–based SkyeTek for $2.6 million.

SkyeTek is a provider of “embedded and standalone” UHF RFID products for original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs), JADAK said in a recent news release announcing the acquisition.

UHF is short for ultra high frequency, while RFID is an abbreviation for radio-frequency identification.

RFID is “similar to a bar code” in products used for data-collection, says Jeffrey Pine, VP of business development at JADAK.

JADAK is a Cicero–based supplier of high frequency RFID, optical-data collection, and machine-vision technologies for OEMs in medical, security, gaming, and kiosk industries. 

“We’ve known of [SkyeTek] for years … They were a customer of ours in years prior,” says Pine.

The deal closed on Dec. 18, he adds. SkyeTek is now part of JADAK’s operations. 

Bedford, Massachusetts–based GSI Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GSIG) is JADAK’s holding company and funded the acquisition. 

“The cash [for the acquisition] came from GSI,” says Pine.

SkyeTech has five employees in Denver. With the acquisition, JADAK now employs 170 people, according to Pine.

“They’re going to change their name to JADAK. The SkyeTek name will be [on] our RFID product line,” he adds.

This is JADAK’s second merger in six months. Last June, it merged with Bedford, Massachusetts–based General Scanning Printer Technologies, a firm that JADAK parent GSI Group also owns.

Besides Cicero, Bedford, and Denver, the firm also operates offices in the Netherlands and China.

The purpose of the deal: Technology
JADAK designs and manufactures its own RFID products in Cicero. It acquired SkyeTek to secure different types of RFID technology. 

“So, UHF (ultra high frequency) RFID was a technology that they have that we didn’t [have] … They also have a customer base and a good name in the RFID industry,” says Pine.

In return, JADAK provides access to its customer base and “enhanced” engineering resources, he adds.

SkyeTek specializes in UHF RFID technologies for OEMs serving the medical and pharmaceutical, government, hospitality, and manufacturing industries. 

“RFID growth has accelerated within the industrial, retail and health-care markets in recent years. In healthcare for example, we’re seeing more and more OEMs integrate RFID to improve their customers’ workflow and reduce errors, thereby giving hospital staff more time to focus on the patients.” David Miller, president of JADAK, said in the company’s news release. “The addition of SkyeTek to JADAK’s already extensive RFID engineering capabilities makes us well positioned to bring a broader set of RFID technologies and services to our customers worldwide. We’re very excited that their team will join us and continue to innovate, providing industry-leading RFID solutions for our customers.”

SkyeTek has delivered RFID products for applications such as inventory and asset management; access control; along with product authentication and patron management. The health-care, retail, and hospitality industries use SkyeTek products to “improve efficiency and solve business problems,” JADAK said.