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Agfa-Gevaert NV
Agfa makes imaging systems and software for printing, healthcare, and industrial customers.
Agfa is a Belgian company that makes the machines and software behind images — the kind that end up on a printed page or on a doctor's screen. Hospitals use its medical imaging systems to capture and read X-rays and other scans, printers use its plates and equipment to put ink on paper, and industrial customers use its specialty films and inspection tools for things like testing materials and electronics.
The company is split into a few main businesses. One sells digital printing plates and equipment that commercial printers rely on to run their presses — a steady, unglamorous consumables business where Agfa is one of the world's major players. Another sells medical imaging hardware and software to hospitals and clinics. A third makes specialty products for industrial uses, including films and systems for non-destructive testing, where you check a part for cracks without breaking it. Agfa is a company with a long and bumpy history. It started in the 1860s as a dye and chemical maker in Antwerp, and for much of the 20th century it was a giant of photographic film, alongside names like Kodak. Then digital photography arrived and wiped out the film business almost overnight. Agfa survived by selling off pieces and pivoting toward printing plates, medical imaging, and industrial products — businesses that still need images but don't depend on camera film.
Its main challenge is that printing plates are a slow-growth, price-competitive business, and medical imaging has tough, well-funded rivals. So Agfa's strategy has been to push into higher-value software and services, especially in healthcare IT, where hospitals pay for systems that manage and analyze their images. It's a smaller, leaner company than it once was, and its future depends on whether it can grow those software and specialty businesses faster than the traditional printing business fades.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026