Serge Crasnianski
Encyclopedia
Serge Crasnianski born 3rd July 1942 is a French entrepreneur who founded in 1963 the Grenoble
based Key Independent System (KIS). This is the company that brought to the world the compact machine that cuts keys, prints business cards, engraves bracelets etc and can be seen in thousands of corner hardware shops around the world.
KIS was formed as a result of Serge Crasnianski filing his first patent in 1963 for an automatic key machine – this was the first automatic machine to make keys. Since then he has filed several hundred patents. The latest ones refer to the production and printing of organic and inorganic cells in a non vacuum environment.
After taking KIS worldwide he took over Photo-Me International
in 1994 and since then KIS has been Photo-Me's manufacturing business. He became a non-executive Director of PMI in 1990 and an executive Director in 1994. He was CEO between 1998 and late 2007, when he was ousted from this position by a group of major shareholders following a decline in the profitability of the Group (it made a pre-tax loss of £6.3 million in the year to April 30, 2008)
He was reappointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in May 2009. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Chairman and Joint Chief Executive and in May 2010 assumed the full role of Chief Executive.
Following his reappointment, a major restructuring was carried out at KIS and the Group recorded a pre-tax profit of £1.6 million in the year ending April 30, 2009 before producing significantly improved results in the year to April 30 2010, a year in which the Group’s loss-making wholesale photo-processing labs business was also sold. Pre-tax profits were £14.0 million with a £31.6 million improvement in the overall cash position meaning the net cash on the Balance Sheet was £8.1 million compared to net debt of £23.5 million the previous year.
Serge Crasnianski remains the largest shareholder in Photo-Me International with a holding of 22.11% as at April 30, 2010. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/movers_and_shakers/article6628548.ece/The Times Online Business Movers]
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
based Key Independent System (KIS). This is the company that brought to the world the compact machine that cuts keys, prints business cards, engraves bracelets etc and can be seen in thousands of corner hardware shops around the world.
KIS was formed as a result of Serge Crasnianski filing his first patent in 1963 for an automatic key machine – this was the first automatic machine to make keys. Since then he has filed several hundred patents. The latest ones refer to the production and printing of organic and inorganic cells in a non vacuum environment.
After taking KIS worldwide he took over Photo-Me International
Photo-Me International
Photo-Me International plc based in Bookham, Surrey operates photobooths. It became a plc in 1963 and has built operations in several countries including Japan, Philippines, Germany and France in addition to the UK...
in 1994 and since then KIS has been Photo-Me's manufacturing business. He became a non-executive Director of PMI in 1990 and an executive Director in 1994. He was CEO between 1998 and late 2007, when he was ousted from this position by a group of major shareholders following a decline in the profitability of the Group (it made a pre-tax loss of £6.3 million in the year to April 30, 2008)
He was reappointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in May 2009. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Chairman and Joint Chief Executive and in May 2010 assumed the full role of Chief Executive.
Following his reappointment, a major restructuring was carried out at KIS and the Group recorded a pre-tax profit of £1.6 million in the year ending April 30, 2009 before producing significantly improved results in the year to April 30 2010, a year in which the Group’s loss-making wholesale photo-processing labs business was also sold. Pre-tax profits were £14.0 million with a £31.6 million improvement in the overall cash position meaning the net cash on the Balance Sheet was £8.1 million compared to net debt of £23.5 million the previous year.
Serge Crasnianski remains the largest shareholder in Photo-Me International with a holding of 22.11% as at April 30, 2010. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/movers_and_shakers/article6628548.ece/The Times Online Business Movers]