UK distributor CMC has been acquired by Swedish rugged portable PC vendor JLT, as part of the vendor’s major investment plans in the UK and Ireland.

JLT’s rugged computers are used in harsh outdoor and industrial environment, with customers such as Fedex, Volvo and Rolls Royce.

Formed in 2004, CMC promoted JLT’s products through its channel of value added resellers that have an established user base among the military, emergency services and manufacturing companies.

JLT will work with CMC’s existing application development partners and is also recruiting new resellers in key markets, such as heavy industry, logistics and manufacturing.

Jan Olofsson, founder and chief executive of JLT, said: “CMC has been a UK JLT partner for four years and the company has opened up some exciting new market opportunities for JLT products. Both parties realised the time was right for major investment and acquisition of CMC is the perfect scenario by providing JLT an inside track to the UK market. It also provides the ideal platform for building a string international brand and business.”

The vendor has appointed Mark Muslek, CMC’s previous managing director, to lead the company’s growth plans of increasing turnover five-fold within three years. JLT anticipates this will be achieved through investment in product development, support and channel sales development.

Muslek, said: “We have ambitious plans for JLT in the UK and this is being backed by a six figure investment that will underpin establishment of strong channel sales and marketing capability. With the market for industrial automation set to grow quickly, the four year track record of activity in the UK means that we are ideally placed to establish JLT as the first choice in rugged industrial computers.”