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February 22, 2022

Taiwan steps up inspections of strawberries from Japan

Fresh strawberries imported from Japan have been subject to batch-by-batch border inspections since Monday after excessive levels of pesticide residue were found in 15 imported batches of the fruit over the past three months, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.

The FDA on Tuesday released a list of eight items that failed its latest border inspections after they were found to contain excessive amounts of pesticide residue or banned preservatives and bleaches.

Strawberries from Japan

The products include cherries imported from Chile, fresh strawberries from Japan, sparkling dark grape juice from Australia, and strawberry biscuit sticks from Thailand.

Higher than permitted levels of pesticide residue have been recently found in fresh strawberries imported from Japan, FDA Northern Center head Chen Ching-yu (???) said.

From November 2021 to January 2022, excessive pesticide residue was detected in a total of 15 batches of strawberries, Chen added.

As a result, the FDA on Monday began batch-by-batch inspections of strawberries imported from Japan, according to Chen.

Related: Food imports with excessive pesticide residues intercepted at border (Feb. 15)

This week, two batches of fresh strawberries from Japan and two shipments of cherries from Chile failed border inspections because of excessive amounts of pesticide residue, according to the FDA.

Chen said that as four batches of cherries imported from Chile were recently found to contain excessive pesticide residue, the FDA will increase inspections of the fruit from the country from 20 percent to 50 percent.

Other substandard imports

The border inspections also found other substandard imports, including 500 items or 12 kilograms of My Daily Choice nutritional spray from the United States that contained banned preservatives, Chen said.

Meanwhile, 1,266 bottles, or 949.5kg, of sparkling dark grape juice from Australia were found to contain banned sulfur dioxide bleach.

According to the FDA, all problematic products were either returned to their country of origin or destroyed.

Taipei City Department of Health on Tuesday also released a list of substandard fresh fruit and vegetables which shows that more than 50 percent of imported products tested in January failed inspections for excessive insecticide residue.

The problematic imports were strawberries and kumquats from Japan, according to the department.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

February 22, 2022

Taiwan’s machinery industry output forecast to grow 15% in 2022

The production value of Taiwan’s machinery industry is expected to rise about 15 percent in 2022 from the year before on the back of continued strong demand, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) said Tuesday.

Speaking with reporters, TAMI Chairman Larry Wei (???) said global demand is expected to keep rising this year as high-end precision and smart manufacturing continue to increase the need for manufacturers to upgrade.

The industry’s production value for 2022 is expected to hit NT$1.5 trillion (US$53.96 billion), up NT$200 billion or about 15 percent from a year earlier, said Wei.

In addition, local machinery exports are also expected to grow 15 percent year-on-year in 2022, Wei forecast.

In 2021, the output value of Taiwan’s machinery sector rose to NT$1.3 trillion, while its exports grew year-on-year by 27 percent to a new high of US$33.14 billion or about NT$921.3 billion. The industry’s exports have been growing steadily over the past 17 months, providing more than 300,000 jobs.

The smart manufacturing trend means smart machinery is gradually replacing traditional machinery in the global manufacturing sector, which will provide a boost to the local sector as it meets growing demand, Wei said.

In addition, Wei said the COVID-19 pandemic had sent ripples into the supply chain in the global machinery industry with the importance of China’s manufacturing having been undercut in the last two years, creating more business opportunities for Taiwanese manufacturers and raising production in Taiwan.

Talking about specific foreign markets, Wei said Taiwanese machinery suppliers had set their sights on the Turkish market, which has served as a springboard for Taiwanese exporters to the Middle Eastern and European markets.

In addition, Wei said he hoped tensions between Russia and Ukraine would ease because geopolitical chaos would affect demand in the global machinery market.

Alex Ko (???), head of a newly established business alliance dedicated to smart manufacturing in Taiwan, said he was upbeat about the local machinery industry and forecast that the output of the industry would move even higher to top NT$2 trillion in 2025.

The alliance, which was set up Monday, is made up of 30 machine tool manufacturers, including Victor Taichung Machinery Works Co., Taiwan Takisawa Technology Corp., and Tongtai Machine & Tool Co.

According to Wei, the output value of Taiwan’s machine tools is expected to reach NT$108.2 billion this year.

For a better understanding about Taiwan’s strength in machinery production, a joint trade exhibition organized by the Taipei International Machine Tool Show (TIMTOS) and Taiwan International Machine Tool Show (TMTS) — the TIMTOS x TMTS 2022 — opened at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Monday and will run through Saturday.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

February 22, 2022

DPP welcomes membership of former independent VP Chen Chien-jen

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Tuesday confirmed that former Vice President Chen Chien-jen (???) had joined its ranks and was returning to active politics.

Following reports in the local media about Chen’s recent membership in the DPP, party spokesman Chou Chiang-chieh (???) said the DPP always welcomes members who share its values and President Tsai Ing-wen’s (???’s) vision for Taiwan’s development.

Chen, a renowned public health scholar at Academia Sinica in Taipei, served as vice president of Taiwan from 2016 to 2020 in Tsai’s administration, but he remained an independent politician.

According to the local weekly Mirror Media magazine, Chen late last year accepted President Tsai’s invitation to join in the DPP, which has given the party a strategic boost ahead of the Nov. 26 nationwide local government elections.

Citing high-level DPP sources, the magazine said Chen may be named as the DPP’s mayoral candidate in Taipei, head of the country’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), or even as premier.

Asked Tuesday whether Chen would replace the incumbent CECC head Chen Shih-chung (???), Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) said there was no such plan.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

February 22, 2022

Government decides to build MRT instead of light rail system in Keelung

The Taiwan government said Tuesday that it has decided to construct a new mass rapid transit (MRT) line in Keelung City, which will connect with Taipei and New Taipei, instead of the light rail system that was planned for the northern city.

The NT$42.5 billion (US$1.52 billion) MRT project will be 77 percent funded by the central government, and the three cities will share the rest of the cost, according to Premier Su Tseng-chang (???).

Initially conceived as a light rail system that would have cost an estimated NT$8 billion, the plan has been upgraded to an MRT line that will run though 13 stations, with the capability to transport 15,000 passengers an hour, compared with a projected 5,000 a day on a light rail system, Su said.

According to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), the 16-kilometer MRT line will be built over a 10-year period, with the launch date set as April 2032.

The Keelung MRT Nangang-Badu line, as will be called, will allow passengers to transfer at Nangang Station to the railway and high speed rail systems, while connection to the Taipei MRT will be at Nangang Exhibition Center station, the MOTC said.

The new line will serve the 100,000 workers who commute daily between Keelung and Taipei and the 200,000 who travel daily between Keelung and Xizhi in New Taipei, according to Transportation Minister Wang Kuo-tsai (???).

The project, which was submitted to the MOTC last December, is currently in the environmental assessment stage, after which it will require Cabinet approval, the ministry said.

The construction work is expected to take nine years, and if all goes well, the line will go into operation in April 2032, it said.

The 13 stations planned on the Keelung MRT line are Badu, Qidu, Liudu, Baifu, North Wudu, Baozhangkeng (1), Baozhangkeng (2), Xizhi District Office, Xike, Zhangshuwan, Nanyang Bridge, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, and Nangang, according to a map released by the MOTC.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

February 22, 2022

Taiwan shares plunge amid escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions

Shares in Taiwan took a beating Tuesday, tumbling more than 250 points with market sentiment spooked by escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Selling was seen across the board on an increase in turnover, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, showed enough resilience to prevent the broader market from falling further, according to dealers.

The Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended down 252.20 points, or 1.38 percent, at 17,969.29, after moving between 17,840.38 and 18,159.51. Turnover totaled NT$336.51 billion (US$12.08 billion).

The market opened down 0.34 percent and selling soon intensified as investors took cues from the news that Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would recognize the independence of two breakaway regions in Ukraine. Russia later sent troops into the two regions, which boosted geopolitical tensions and undercut market confidence, dealers said.

With the Taiex dipping below 17,900 points at one point, some bargain hunters emerged, picking up TSMC, helping the broader market recoup part of its earlier losses by the end of the session, they said.

Russia-Ukraine tensions

“Markets in the region were completely dictated by escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the particular noneconomic factor, and Taipei was no exception,” Concord Securities analyst Kerry Huang said, referring to the markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Shanghai.

“Selling focused on large stocks in both electronics and nontech sectors which had served as an anchor to the Taiex’s recent upturn as investors simply took advantage of their relatively high valuations,” Huang said.

The bellwether electronics sector fell 1.24 percent with the semiconductor sub-index down 1.19 percent.

Tech stocks

Among the falling tech heavyweights, smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc. lost 1.77 percent to close at NT$1,110.00. United Microelectronics Corp., the second-largest contract chipmaker in Taiwan after TSMC, fell 1.86 percent to end at NT$52.80, while power management IC designer Silergy Corp. shed 2.70 percent to close at NT$3,600.00.

In the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip industry, Nanya Technology Corp. lost 2.11 percent to end at NT$78.70, and Winbond Electronics Corp. fell 1.73 percent to close at NT$34.15.

“Fortunately, TSMC remained resilient throughout the session, falling moderately after recovering from an earlier low to stabilize the broader market to some extent,” Huang said. “At a time when the Taiwan dollar weakened against the U.S. dollar, I suspect the support for TSMC did not come from foreign institutional investors but from government-led funds.”

TSMC lost 0.79 percent to end at NT$627.00 after coming off a low of NT$625.00.

“TSMC has seen technical support as it moved closer to the 60-day moving average of NT$625.00,” Huang said.

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$38.66 billion worth of shares on the main board Tuesday.

Also in the tech sector, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. lost 1.42 percent to close at NT$104.50, while printed circuit board maker Compeq Manufacturing Co. rose 0.94 percent to end at NT$48.48.

Huang said old economy industries, the steel and transportation sectors in particular, also came under pressure as investors seized upon geopolitical tensions as an excuse to pocket their recent gains.

The steel sector lost 1.59 percent despite a spike in hot-rolled steel product prices, Huang said. Chung Hung Steel Corp. shed 3.63 percent to close at NT$41.20, China Steel Structure Corp. lost 3.39 percent to end at NT$59.90, Tung Ho Steel Enterprise Corp. dropped 1.85 percent to close at NT$68.80, and China Steel Corp., the largest steelmaker in Taiwan, fell 0.82 percent to end at NT$36.15.

Non-tech sectors

In the transportation sector, which lost 3.57 percent, Evergreen Marine Corp., Taiwan’s largest container cargo shipper, lost 3.06 percent to close at NT$142.50, while rivals Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. and Wan Hai Lines Ltd. fell 5.02 percent and 6.92 percent, respectively, to end at NT$113.50 and NT$181.50.

Among airline stocks, China Airlines lost 1.90 percent to close at NT$28.45, while EVA Airways rose 1.70 percent to end at NT$32.95.

Elsewhere, Formosa Plastics Corp. lost 1.94 percent to close at NT$96.10, and textile brand Far Eastern New Century Corp. fell 0.83 percent to end at NT$29.95.

“Today’s losses pushed down the Taiex below the support around the 60-day moving average of 17,983,” Huang said. “If the main board continues to weaken on rising geopolitical tensions, the index could test the next support at around 17,633 points, an intraday low seen on Jan. 26.”

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

February 22, 2022

Central Taiwan’s Xueshan sees highest snowfall in 5 years

Nearly 90 centimeters of snow has fallen in the glacial cirques area of Xueshan (or Syue Mountain, ??), Taiwan’s second highest mountain, since the arrival of the first cold snap of the winter over the weekend, Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters said Tuesday.

The snowfall is the most in five years on the 3,886 meter mountain, located in the Heping District of Taichung, according to Chen Chun-shan (???), deputy director of the national park headquarters.

If it continues, the record 145cm snowfall in 2016 could be surpassed, Chen said.

Despite the snow, a number of keen hikers have still reached the mountain peak over the past few days, Chen said, and the photos they took of the so-called “Black Forest” at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, where Taiwan white firs grow, show a truly beautiful black-and-white mountain landscape, he added.

However, the national park official cautioned hikers trying to reach the peak to make sure they are properly dressed and equipped to deal with the challenges posed by the cold and snow.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

February 21, 2022

VUV Analytics, Inc Announces the Inclusion of ASTM D8267 in Issue 13 of Def Stan 91-091

CEDAR PARK, Texas, Feb. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — VUV Analytics, Inc. today announced a significant achievement in their international fuels analysis strategy with the news that ASTM D8267 has been added to Def Stan 91-091.^* With this publication, ASTM D8267 can now be used to analyze and certify conventional jet fuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blends, instead of older, more complex, and expensive techniques, such as Florescence Indicator Absorption or FIA (IP 156/ASTM D1319) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography or HPLC (IP 436/ASTM D6379).

“Publication of ASTM D8267 into the dominant international standard for jet fuel represents a significant step forward in our global VUV Analyzer™ Platform strategy,” said Clark Jernigan, CEO of VUV Analytics. “Since its introduction, our vision has been to provide a platform approach to the analysis of fuels globally and to comprehend future low-carbon fuel needs in the resulting scope.” He continued, “Now that ASTM D8267 has been included in Def Stan 91-091, international laboratories that test and certify jet fuel have yet another reason to implement our platform. We will continue to bring new international standard methods forward like the upcoming ASTM D8368 for Diesel and Biodisel blends that can help our customers reduce overall operating costs and increase productivity.”

Dan Wispinski, Standards Development Manager at VUV Analytics, noted, “Prior to this publication, testing aromatic content of international jet fuel was limited to either FIA or HPLC methods – both of which have changed little in the 50-plus years since their introduction. ASTM D8267 provides a new approach that is fully automated and takes advantage of spectral verification for more confidence in results. Additionally, ASTM D8267 is easier to use and operate compared to the alternatives and does not require complex calibration curves or the need for sample preparation. ASTM D8267 reports in both mass% and vol% so there is no need for a mass% to vol% calibration. Unlike other methods, ASTM D8267 does not require a bias correction for total aromatics and the results of D8267 can be used in ASTM D3338 to estimate the net heat of combustion. Perhaps most important, ASTM D8267 has better accuracy and precision and covers a wide range of concentrations compared to the alternatives.”

“From an economic perspective, ASTM D8267 is significantly less expensive to operate on a per-sample basis,” said Sean Jameson, Senior Vice President of Business Development. He continued, “When you consider acquisition costs, ongoing consumables and waste costs, and the labor costs required, ASTM D8267 has proven to be 2.5 times less expensive to operate than HPLC and 16 times less expensive to operate compared to FIA on a per-sample basis. Much of this cost difference comes from the need to purchase expensive consumables like hazardous solvents, standards, and sometimes difficult-to-get dyes, as well as the significant labor overhead to run these techniques.”

Learn more about the VUV Analyzer for Fuels and ASTM D8267 at www.vuvanalytics.com.

About VUV Analytics, Inc.

The vision of VUV Analytics is to develop novel solutions and streamlined processes by harnessing the unique capabilities of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) technology. Virtually every compound absorbs in the vacuum ultraviolet spectrum, which is measured by VUV detectors. Universal VUV spectroscopic detectors provide a new dimension of chemical analysis. VUV detectors have been designed especially for gas chromatography and streaming gas applications. Learn more at www.vuvanalytics.com.

Contact

Peter J. Boler

Vice President of Marketing

VUV Analytics Inc.

peter.boler@vuvanalytics.com

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February 21, 2022

Taconic Biosciences® Launches Cage+™, Redefining Colony Management Solutions for the Modern Laboratory

Stewardship Approach Safeguards All Elements of Contract Breeding Services

RENSSELAER, N.Y., Feb. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Taconic Biosciences, a global leader in providing drug discovery animal model solutions, launched Cage+, a holistic, innovative approach to murine contract breeding services. Cage+ delivers complete stewardship of projects from start to finish, allowing investigators to focus on research with confidence that animal model supply is reliable, at the highest quality, and on budget.

Biomedical and pharmaceutical research has profoundly changed over the past two decades. Studies are more advanced and rapid-paced, compressing the time to produce experimental data required to support well-informed decisions. The novel animal models generated to support these advanced studies have become more complex and precise. Yet, while the contract research service industry has kept pace with biomedical research advancements, the contract breeding industry has remained largely unchanged since the early 1990s. Most providers continue to place the project planning and management burden on investigators, who have neither the time nor expertise to direct service providers on how best to design and manage scaled production of complex animal models.

Taconic’s Cage+ Colony Management Solutions closes the gap between biomedical research program demands and the antiquated approach offered by many contract breeding services. Cage+ employs a holistic approach, combining standard animal breeding and husbandry elements with comprehensive breeding design expertise, project-specific methodology to reduce animal welfare concerns, budget monitoring, and proactive project management and communication. Additionally, this all-encompassing program rapidly expands breeding production through expert-led embryology methods, delivers internationally harmonized animal health standards, and includes the eTACONIC^® web-based project management tool, providing users access to colony information 24/7.

Cage+ allows investigators to fully leverage proven expertise in complex model design and breeding to advance research programs. When coupled with Taconic’s Custom Model Generation Solutions, Cage+ Colony Management Solutions brings a comprehensive and seamless “design to management” service, allowing clients to leverage the most complex genetically engineered models from initial design through to scaled production of study cohorts.

“Researchers should demand better from contract breeding service providers, and this view is the driving factor behind our Cage+ stewardship-based approach to colony management solutions,” said Dr. John Couse, vice president, scientific services. “With Cage+, researchers will view Taconic as an extension of their team, leveraging the collaboration of scientists and experts. Our approach allows investigators to focus their time, energy, and resources on research while trusting their custom model animal development and production to Taconic.”

To learn more about how Cage+ can improve your colony management experience and outcomes, please call 1-888-TACONIC (1-888-822-6642) in the US, +45 70 23 04 05 in Europe, or email info@taconic.com.

About Taconic Biosciences, Inc.
Taconic Biosciences is a fully-licensed, global leader in genetically engineered rodent models and services. Founded in 1952, Taconic provides the best animal solutions so that customers can acquire, custom-generate, breed, precondition, test, and distribute valuable research models worldwide. Specialists in genetically engineered mouse and rat models, microbiome, immuno-oncology mouse models, and integrated model design and breeding services, Taconic operates laboratories and breeding facilities in the US and Europe, maintains distributor relationships in Asia, and has global shipping capabilities to provide animal models almost anywhere in the world.

Media Contact:
Aidan Bouchelle
Associate Director, Marketing Operations
1-518-949-7598
Aidan.Bouchelle@taconic.com

February 21, 2022

LINE FRIENDS to Change Its Corporate Name to IPX, the Digital IP Platform Starting Off the Metaverse and NFT Digital IP Business

LINE FRIENDS announces new corporate name ‘IPX’ as a Digital IP Platform

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Global creative studio LINE FRIENDS announced that they are changing its corporate name to ‘IPX,’ a ‘digital IP platform’ company, officially entering the digital IP based metaverse and NFT business.

Seven years since its establishment, LINE FRIENDS is taking on a new corporate identity for a digital and virtual IP oriented business transformation, beyond offline retail businesses. Now as IPX, the company will expand with a focus on the global fandom based digital IP business ecosystem, leading the metaverse generation. Specifically, IPX will emphasize the ‘IP eXperience,’ and deliver the company values of various IP oriented joy in digital lifestyle to the Millennials and Generation Z. The name ‘LINE FRIENDS’ will remain effective for its Original Characters IPs, offline stores, and its subsidiaries.

Separating itself from LINE Corp. in 2015, LINE FRIENDS initially focused on developing its offline retail business. However, through a rapid digital transformation strategy prior to the pandemic, LINE FRIENDS broadened its business in character IPs from merchandise to life-like IPs as dynamic virtual influencers. Through shifting offline stores virtually, LINE FRIENDS also succeeded in expanding its digital brand experience and strengthening its online commerce, transforming into a digital IP business. In the process, the company’s total IP transactions reached around USD 833 million last year with around 28% CAGR in total IP transactions since 2016, and a 31% increase in online sales compared to 2019, despite the pandemic.

Recently, IPX unveiled ‘FRENZ,’ a new IP generating platform where users can create their own character IPs reflecting their own personality and taste, that can be expanded into other metaverse and NFT services, officially beginning its character centered digital IP entertainment business. IPX, through strategic partnerships and investments with other platforms and service companies in metaverse and NFT business, will continue to support the growth of ‘FRENZ.’

To secure diverse IPs, IPX will discover promising IP holders in fostering high growth potential IPs. For the overall digital IP market, IPX will implement a business support program for their IPs’ commercial and license businesses, and even expansion into digital areas such as metaverse services and NFT games. Much like BT21, WDZY, TRUZ and other IPs, IPX also plans to launch the new virtual character IPs in collaboration with global artists in fashion and entertainment industry, continuing its expertise and creative capabilities in virtual character IP, developing afresh virtual IPs and joining hands with partners in various industries, including entertainment and gaming.

“IPX’s creative capabilities and unique moves continue to break the framework of the existing character business, shifting from retail oriented to digital business and targeting over 40 million fandom worldwide including Millennials and Generation Z,” said James Kim, CEO of IPX. “With this change of corporate name, IPX will pioneer new metaverse and NFT businesses with its competitive IPs to build the digital IP business ecosystem that allows anyone to create and share their own character IPs, leading the ‘digital IP entertainment business.’”

About IPX (FKA. LINE FRIENDS)

IPX is a new corporate name of LINE FRIENDS, a global character brand that originally started from Original Characters including BROWN, CONY, SALLY created for use as stickers for the leading mobile messenger app LINE and its 200 million active users worldwide. Upon rapidly transforming its offline business to digital, the total Intellectual Property (IP) transaction reached USD 883 million in 2021, and IPX announced itself as a ‘digital IP platform’ company to enter the digital IP based metaverse and NFT business.

IPX officially began its digital IP entertainment business by unveiling ‘FRENZ,’ a new IP generator platform where users can create their own character IPs and further use them expanding into metaverse and NFT services. Through strategic partnerships and investments with blockchain gaming, NFT, and metaverse companies, IPX will continue to expand its own technology and expertise. Moving forward, IPX will collaborate with global artists from the fashion and entertainment business in developing new influential virtual IPs, as well as discovering promising IP holders and fostering them to expand their scope in digital IP business areas such as NFT, leading the digital IP centered metaverse generation.

IPX has created popular IPs – ‘BT21’ (BTS), ‘WDZY’ (ITZY), ‘TRUZ’ (TREASURE) – and expanded its IP-based business by partnering with global media and game companies including Netflix (original animated series), SUPERCELL (Brawl Stars) and NEXON (KartRider), further diversifying and strengthening its competitiveness in digital contents. Recently, IPX opened its first ever virtual store on the global metaverse service, ‘Play Together’ and expanded the boundaries of its popular IPs to virtual character influencers to win the hearts of Millennials and Generation Z worldwide. IPX currently operates in 15 markets worldwide including Seoul, New York, LA, Tokyo, and Shanghai, and also operates in 15 online sales platforms.

Media Contact:

Sage Park, Account Manager, Ketchum
Tel: +822-5599-622
Email: sage.park@ketchum.com

LINE FRIENDS announces new corporate name ‘IPX’ as a Digital IP Platform

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LINE FRIENDS announces new corporate name ‘IPX’ as a Digital IP Platform

February 21, 2022

Clubessential Holdings Announces International Acquisition of Innovatise

Innovatise’s myFitApp member app solution is an essential marketing tool for gyms

Innovatise

CINCINNATI, Feb. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Membership-management software company, Clubessential Holdings, announced the acquisition of Innovatise, the company behind myFitApp, the leading member app and hybrid business platform for gyms and fitness studios. Already a major provider of membership- and club-management SaaS solutions for boutique fitness franchisors, under its ClubReady brand, and enterprise-fitness operators under its Exerp brand, this acquisition strengthens Clubessential Holdings’ product portfolio and international presence serving over 6,000 fitness clubs, and 7 million members, in 17 countries.

“The digital member experience, especially in the form of hybrid fitness offerings, and the ability for gyms to easily market to members have become essential to gyms’ success,” commented Randy Eckels, CEO of Clubessential Holdings. “Innovatise’s myFitApp branded member-app platform allows members to access live streaming and on-demand fitness classes. These solutions transform the member experience of any membership- and club-management solution and give gym operators the marketing tools to succeed.”

Headquartered in Germany, and with over 2,300 gyms across the globe, Innovatise is advancing its technology to meet the evolving member and operational needs of the world’s top fitness brands. Fitness businesses need tools to deliver outstanding user experience and a marketing platform to acquire and retain customers. To meet this need, Innovatise has developed an integrated marketing, commerce, and hybrid platform comprising branded mobile apps, integrated member experiences with self-service, booking, payment, content, access control, messaging and digital fitness. These solutions provide a powerful addition to fitness platforms, enabling studios and operators to connect with and provide hybrid fitness classes to their members at home.

“The gym market is rapidly growing and evolving,” commented Thomas Schuster, CEO of Innovatise, “As part of Clubessential Holdings we’ll build on the rapid growth we experienced in 2021 and accelerate, not only in Europe but around the world.”

Clubessential Holdings was established in 2016 with a vision to acquire and grow category-leading, membership-management software companies; unlock the power of a shared, integrated-payments platform; and fully digitize their customers’ and members’ experiences. Clubessential Holdings is focused on providing industry-leading technologies and services, as well as committed to growth in the European market.

Clubessential Holdings LLC

Clubessential Holdings is fulfilling their global mission of investing in and creating cutting-edge, category-defining businesses by providing a full suite of membership and club management Software as a Service solutions to private clubs, public clubs, health & fitness clubs, military organizations, municipalities, and college athletic programs. Across six brands – Clubessential, ClubReady, Exerp, foreUP, PrestoSports, and Vermont Systems – the company offers a variety of forward-thinking technology and services which help more than 10,000 customers attract, engage, and retain members and fans for life. For more information, visit the following websites: clubessential.com, clubready.com, exerp.com, foreupgolf.com, prestosports.com, and vermontsystems.com.

Innovatise

Innovatise is the developer of myFitApp, an open, hybrid fitness platform gyms & health clubs use to communicate their brand, retain members, acquire new ones and deliver digital fitness using the unique power of mobile. With over 2,300 gyms and over 10M App downloads worldwide, we are leaders in providing marketing-focused, branded apps for gyms, particularly in the UK and DACH. Our UK customers include GLL, Everyone Active, Bannatyne and Gymbox. In DACH our customers include JustFit, Fitnessloft, Elixia, Smile X and PureGym. To learn more, visit www.myfitapp.com. Follow on LinkedIn and Facebook.

CONTACT:

Marilyn Cox
Chief Marketing Officer
Clubessential Holdings, LLC
513.322.4194
mcox@clubessential.com

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Innovatise