Wasp Barcode Technologies: The Barcode Solution People

Honeywell Buys LXE

In the last five years, we have seen a number of acquisitions occur in the barcoding industry. Large, big-name corporations are seeing the benefits of getting into the barcode industry. These acquisitions have introduced companies like Motorola and Honeywell into the market place. These large corporations joining the Automatic Identification and Data Capture industry means that more money can be spent in research and development. We have definitely seen rapid technology advances occurring in the last five years. It seems that every year there is not just one or two new products from each manufacturer, but more like four or five. The most recent acquisition to note is the purchase of LXE by Honeywell. Honeywell actually purchased EMS Technologies and LXE is a part of their Global Resource Management (GRM) division. It’s a good fit for Honeywell since GRM not only has highly ruggedized mobile computing products and services, but they also have secure satellite-based asset tracking and messaging technology. Also, the Aviation division at EMS is included in the purchase, which is a nice addition for Honeywell. In regards to barcode data collection though, this purchase helps fill in some gaps in the Honeywell product line. Honeywell’s previous acquisitions of Metrologic and Hand Held Products gave it a strong portfolio of retail barcode scanners, 2D barcode scanners, and mobile computers. LXE adds truck- or vehicle-mounted rugged computers as well as mobile computers designed to perform at a high level in freezers. This latest acquisition is another indicator that Honeywell is serious about this market space and will no doubt be a leading player in the Automatic Identification and Data Capture industry.