Like many New England companies, MARKEM has roots in the shoe industry. In 1911, F.A. Putnam founded a company to develop inks that would effectively adhere to shoe leather. His inks soon became the industry favorite, and as MARKEM’s reputation quickly grew, other industries asked for solutions to their product marking challenges. By the middle of the twentieth century, MARKEM had revolutionized the electronics industry by developing inks and machines to mark on radio tubes, and had also forever changed the face of textile and apparel with the world’s first wash-proof cloth labels.

Since then, MARKEM has ventured into other new strategic markets. In 1996, Spectra, Inc. was acquired, a leading developer and manufacturer of piezoelectric ink jet printheads and related consumables and accessories. That same year, MARKEM acquired Prestek, Ltd., a U.K.-based manufacturer of thermal transfer coders and printers and barcode print-and-apply label systems. In 2000, expansion continued into other new technologies with a significant investment in California-based LaserInk Corporation, adding compact CO2 laser marking systems to our product portfolio. In 2004, CommIT International, a Belgium-based software and services company was acquired. This acquisition added real-time data capture solutions, which enable product traceability and real-time warehouse management.

Today, we continue to strengthen our position in the global marketplace with advanced product development programs and strategic acquisitions. We now have more than 1,300 employees worldwide. Operating from headquarters in Keene, New Hampshire, we have additional development and manufacturing facilities in San Diego, California; Nottingham, England and Schoten, Belgium, with subsidiary companies, distributors and representatives in more than 50 countries.