Six months after celebrating its 25th anniversary, Comworth Systems has acquired fellow distribution company MEC in what Comworth’s General Manager Mark Charlesworth says is only the first step of the company’s acquisitions journey. Privately-owned MEC has been operating in New Zealand for over 20 years. Its product portfolio includes Toshiba, Konica Minolta, Panasonic and LG Electronics. Comworth’s General Manager told The Channel that recently the company “has seen a need to grow” and the MEC acquisition makes sense in that context. This is the first stage in plans to further diversify and grow the Comworth business.Charlesworth confirmed that the deal had been finalised and the MEC business will be moving to Comworth’s North Shore premises. All MEC partners and customers are being advised of the change of ownership, which  takes effect on 1 April. “We will be providing support to all MEC partners and customers,” explains Charlesworth. “Backed by the full resources of Comworth Systems, we’re expecting MEC to go from strength to strength over the coming years.”Not all of MEC staff will be staying with the company after the transition. MEC’s key staff and management roles will remain the same, but some positions will be taken over by current Comworth staff. However, the General Manager was not able to give any numbers as this edition went to print, because the employment agreements were still being finalised.“The company is a key distributor of Panasonic products including Toughbook, ruggedized laptops designed to withstand extreme conditions, which are used primarily by defence forces around the globe. Since it picked up distribution of Toughbook approximately ten years ago, MEC has rapidly increased product sales within the New Zealand market,” explains Charlesworth.Also, MEC provides product-related support to resellers and consumers throughout New Zealand and its service department is an accredited warranty repairer for Toughbook and LG Electronics.