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June 3, 2015

Konica Minolta acquires IT firm with Westbrook, Lewiston offices

Photo / Courtesy of SymQuest Group Larry Sudbay, president and CEO of SymQuest Group, with Rick Taylor, president and chief operating officer of Konica Minolta Business Solutions, on Wednesday.

National IT giant Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA Inc. announced Tuesday that it has acquired SymQuest Group, a managed IT services firm with a growing presence in Maine.

Leaders from both companies called the acquisition a “perfect match” in a Wednesday phone conference call with Mainebiz, saying it will expand opportunities for both SymQuest and Konica Minolta Business Solutions, which is based in Ramsey, N.J. Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions is a subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc., with more than 8,000 employees in the United States.

Larry Sudbay, president and co-founder of SymQuest, said that the acquisition will allow the company to expand offerings to its 2,500 clients, 600 of which are in Maine. The company provides a variety of managed IT services, including cloud solutions, managed network services, document management and managed print services.

“We are now able to offer far more solutions today than we were yesterday,” he said. “We’re excited about all the solutions they bring.”

Sudbay said SymQuest will retain its name and its 186 employees across SymQuest’s headquarters in Westbrook and South Burlington, Vt., and five offices in New York and northern New England, which includes a location in Lewiston. What’s more, the acquisition will allow SymQuest to double its Maine workforce of 32 employees within the next few years, Sudbay said, reiterating a statement he made last fall.

Sudbay said the acquisition came together after SymQuest spent four years looking for an investor that would help the company grow. But the investor couldn’t be just any company, he said. It had to be one that shared its values and mission statement. And that ultimately led to Konica Minolta, which he said offers a similar business model.

“One of the attributes we saw with Konica is that while they think globally, they act locally,” Sudbay said of Konica Minolta’s matching values. “SymQuest’s ability to continue to create raving fans was important to Konica,” and that made it a “match in heaven.”

Rick Taylor, president and chief operating officer of Konica Minolta Business Solutions, said this is the company’s 20th acquisition in the last four years. He said the company is on the lookout for innovative companies with great leadership teams that are looking to grow.

“We have the same exact business strategy and to expand our market share is a perfect scenario for us,” he said.

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SymQuest to double Maine workforce by 2017

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