Zebra Technologies
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American technology company

Zebra Technologies Corporation is an American mobile computing company specializing in technology used to sense, analyze, and act in real time.[2] The company manufactures and sells marking, tracking, and computer printing technologies. Its products include mobile computers and tablets, software, thermal barcode label and receipt printers, RFID smart label printers/encoders/fixed & handheld readers/antennas, autonomous mobile robots (AMR’s) & machine vision (MV), and fixed industrial scanning hardware & software.

History

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Zebra was incorporated in 1969 as Data Specialties Incorporated, a manufacturer of high-speed electromechanical products. The company changed its focus to specialty on-demand labeling and ticketing systems in 1982 and became Zebra Technologies Corporation in 1986. Zebra became a publicly traded company in 1991.

In 1986, Zebra (then Data Specialties Incorporated) acquired Qwint Systems (formerly Martin Research), an early microcomputer pioneer which had restructured as a teletypewriter manufacturer at the beginning of the 1980s.[3][4]

In 1998, Zebra Technologies merged with Eltron International, Inc.[5] In 2000, Comtec Information Systems was acquired by Zebra Technologies,[6] followed in 2003 by the acquisition of Atlantek, Inc., which was a manufacturer of photo ID printers.[7]

In 2004, the company expanded into RFID smart label manufacturing.[8][9] In the following years, Zebra also acquired Swecoin, WhereNet Corp,[10] Proveo AG,[11] and Navis Holdings (later divested in 2011).[12]

The company bought the Enterprise Solutions Group (ESG) in 2008 and renamed the group Zebra Enterprise Solutions in 2009. In the same year, Multispectral Solutions, Inc. was acquired.[13] In 2012, the companies LaserBand,[14] and StepOne Systems were purchased with a cash price of $1.5 million.[15]

In 2013, the company acquired Hart Systems for $94 million in cash from the private equity firm Topspin Partners LBO.[16]

In 2014, Zebra acquired Motorola Solutions' Enterprise Division in a $3.45 billion transaction, providing mobile computing and advanced data capture communications technologies and services. Zebra's acquisition of the Enterprise Division included the Symbol Technologies and Psion product lines.[16][17] Also in 2014, Zebra provided its real-time location system (RTLS) in NFL stadiums to track players and officials and provide location-based data for the NFL's Next Gen Stats program.[18][19] Zebra’s partnership with the NFL extends through the 2025 football season.[20]

In 2018, the company acquired Xplore Technologies, a maker of ruggedized tablets and other hard-wearing hardware.[21]

In 2019, Zebra acquired Temptime Corporation, a provider of temperature monitoring devices to the healthcare industry.[22] That same year, Zebra also acquired Profitect, a retail software company that developed a product line used for tracking and identifying inventory losses.[23][24]

In 2020, Zebra acquired Reflexis Systems, a provider of workforce scheduling and task management software to the retail, food service, hospitality, and banking industries[25] for $575 Million.[26]

In 2021, Zebra acquired Adaptive Vision (provider of graphical MV software), Fetch Robotics (manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots) and Antuit.ai (provider of AI-powered SaaS solutions specific to forecasting and merchandising for the retail and CPG industries).[27][28][29]

In 2022, Zebra acquired Matrox Imaging, a developer of machine vision components and systems.[30]

In December 2023, Zebra partnered with Verizon Business to create a software package that will allow for a faster private 5G network. Zebra tablets and computers will work on Verizon's private network, allowing for more network capacity and fast communication.[31][32]

In 2023, Zebra unveiled Zebra Workcloud - its purpose-built suite of enterprise software applications, primarily serving in retail, banking and healthcare industries.[33] Zebra also introduced the WS50 powered by Workcloud, the first wearable Android touch computer.[34][35]

Locations

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Zebra Technologies has more than 128 offices in 55 countries,[36] including Australia, Poland, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.[37][38] The company also has over 10,000+ partners[clarification needed] across 180 countries.[36] In the 2021 annual report, Zebra stated that it traded in 180 countries, with approximately 128 facilities and 9,800 employees.[2][36]

Reception

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Newsweek included Zebra on its 2023 America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity list.[39]

References

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