Business

PaperlinX has announced a series of measures to further simplify and improve efficiency within its customer sales and service operations.

With immediate effect, Andy Buxton, managing director, PaperlinX Commercial Print, will assume additional responsibility for Narrow Format Reels, Graphic & Cartonboard, Graphical Consumables, WebCo, Precision Publishing, Resellers and Brightstream.

Buxton will be supported by the existing senior management team, including David Darwood, Steve Webb, Robin Watkinson and Mandy Gallego.

“This new structure forms a key part of our mission to ensure a customer-centric business model,” said Buxton.

The merchant group is proposing to close its Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham sales offices and create one PaperlinX Midlands branch based at Moulton Park. This would further improve efficiencies and facilitate a high level of customer service.

These changes, together with continued development of its Delivery Co. network will result in 80 staff leaving the business.

The winners of the FESPA Awards 2013 have been announced as follows:

• The prize for Best in Show went to Switzerland’s Atelier für Siebdruck Lorenz Boegli for their screen printed entry ‘Josephine’. The image is one of ten screen and digital printed designs of Josephine Napoleon for French high end jewellery brand Chaumet.
• The Runner Up Award was won by India’s Studio Reya for their T-shirt titled Indian.
• The Michel Caza People’s Choice Award went to Sweden’s Tobex AB for their stunning textile titled ‘Bluebells’.

The winners were presented with their prizes at the organisation’s 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner at Old Billingsgate in London on Thursday 27th June 2013.  Nigel Steffens, FESPA’s CEO comments, “We were overwhelmed with the quality of Award entries, with more than 385 entries from members of FESPA’s national associations around the world. The judges - comprised of technical screen and digital print experts as well as top industry editors - were impressed with the high calibre entries and outstanding creativity overall. It proved to be a very difficult decision for the judges to choose the winning entries this year as the quality of the work was exceptional.”

Josep Tobella Soler, Chairman of the Judging Panel remarked, ”People could be of the opinion that screen printing is an industry in decline, however the innovation that we are seeing across all Award categories highlights that this is certainly not the case. Screen printing is here to stay as it’s an irreplaceable technique for multiple applications. Conventional screen printing is a special craft and keeps surprising me. The special effects that can be achieved in graphics and textiles are breathtaking.  The digital entries of this year’s FESPA Awards illustrate that amazing new applications will help to open up new business markets.”

Lascelle Barrow has been inaugurated as FESPA’s 15th President at the FESPA 2013 Gala Dinner which was held on Thursday 27th June.  He assumes the role from outgoing President Gyorgy Kovacs.

Barrow will be supported by Vice President Yaşar Gűvenen. The start of Lascelle Barrow’s Presidency coincides with FESPA’s 50th Anniversary, at a time when the organisation is expanding globally with new FESPA-branded events in Brazil, Turkey, China and Africa, in addition to its successful European exhibition portfolio.

The role of the President is to oversee FESPA’s activities as a Federation of National Associations; to chair the FESPA Board and General Assembly; to work closely with the FESPA Managing Director and executive team to ensure that FESPA events activities support the needs and aspirations of FESPA’s 37 Member Associations; and to supervise the reinvestment of funds for the benefit of FESPA’s global community of printers through the Profit for Purpose programme.

This is Barrow’s second tenure as FESPA President, having previously occupied the role from 1992 to 1996. During that period he was responsible for the move of the FESPA exhibition to its first stand-alone venue in Lyon, which transformed FESPA's income from the exhibition business. He has maintained this focus on nurturing the commercial success of the organisation, championing the launch of the FESPA Digital event, and driving FESPA’s global expansion strategy, recognising the importance of establishing strong positions in key emerging markets

Lascelle Barrow comments, “I’m immensely proud to be given the chance to serve FESPA as President for a second time, and to be taking office here in London, my home city, mid-way through a phenomenal FESPA exhibition. As printers, we face many positive opportunities; to celebrate print’s role in a multichannel environment; to continue to embrace digital, both as a production technology and as a complementary medium to print; and to reap the benefits of being part of a connected and creative global community. I know myself the value of building authentic relationships with people who have guided and inspired me, and helped me to overcome challenges. I believe wholeheartedly in the power of a trusted community like FESPA, and I look forward to playing an active role in helping printers worldwide to grow and improve with FESPA’s support.”

InkTec Europe has announced that the latest addition to its Jetrix range of UV printers - the Jetrix KX5 - has been sold to Wave Design To Print of Bridgend, Wales. This is the first of this model to be sold in Europe and installation will take place in July.

This will become the third Jetrix printer that Wave Design To Print have in their portfolio following two successful installations of the Jetrix 1212 (KX3) earlier this year. Wave has purchased all three Jetrix printers through Jetrix Channel Partner, Paperlinx (Digital Solutions).

Despite its significant market share in North America, finishing solutions developer Drytac has very British roots...

For four decades, Drytac has bridged the ocean between the UK and North America. Chairman and CEO Richard Kelley emigrated from England to Canada in 1963 and began his career by launching a gift and promotional products business in Ottawa, before becoming the Canadian distributor for UK-based Ademco, a supplier of mounting adhesives and heatset films, in 1972. A restructure of Ademco four years later gave Richard the ideal opportunity to establish his own brand in the adhesive marketplace, and Drytac was born.

Fast-forward to 2012, with Richard's son Hayden Kelley moving his family from Canada to Bristol to take on the role of Managing Director of Drytac Europe. After attaining a Master's Degree in Business and achieving success as an investment banker despite the financial recession, Hayden turned to the more satisfying business of manufacturing.

Made in Britain

Moreover, Hayden is hugely enthusiastic about Drytac's UK operations.  Having started at Drytac's California base before heading up Drytac Canada, Hayden asserts: 'The UK can, should and will be the head of the company'.

Holding the position of the number-one manufacturer of coated media in Canada and sitting comfortably in the top five in the USA, it may come as a surprise that the UK arm already wields a lot of muscle within Drytac: the majority of its products for the expansive graphic arts market is made in Britain and exported abroad – a fact Hayden is keen to make known.

"We're going to focus on our roots and what we're really, truly good at – which is making self-adhesive products for the graphics market, our home base," he comments.

A city proud of its heritage, with its own brand of culture, architecture and craft – not to mention its own local competitor to Sterling, the Bristol Pound – Bristol is an ideal base for Drytac's 'Made in Britain' ethos. Employing around 50 people, the Fishponds HQ is also eagerly developing new products for graphics houses in the UK and beyond, from the eco-conscious BioLam films to high coatweight films for UV printed output. The clear UV-printable, self-adhesive window film ViziPrint was launched late last year, and there's more on the way.

This June it was announced that Drytac had agreed an exclusive UK and Ireland distribution deal with Antalis, which will see customers benefit from Antalis's extensive supply channels and large team of experienced sales professionals. By exiting the direct sales route, Drytac is able to plough its resources into product development and business growth.

Antalis is currently demonstrating its new Drytac portfolio at FESPA London, giving many wide-format print businesses the first look at new products. 

Moving further

Its breadth of technology also makes Drytac an international player. Boasting the resources to manufacture solvent, emulsion and hot-melt adhesion products, it is competing with only a handful of companies for its variety of output.

Meanwhile, Drytac launched its first Facebook page this spring, allowing its international customers and colleagues to come together in an online community.

The combination of North American business sense, a British manufacturing base, a dedicated UK and international sales channel and European ambitions will surely see Drytac open many more doors across the globe.

For more information, please visit www.drytac.co.uk

[Photo shows Hayden Kelley, managing director of Drytac Europe]

PxartPrinting has ordered three new HP Latex 300 printers off-stand on the first day of FESPA 2013.

On the triple puchase,PixartPrinting's Alessandro Tenderini says, “One of the true innovations of the London exhibition, the world premiered HP Latex 3000 is the solution that we have been searching for a long time.”

PixartPrinting was particularly impressed with new stabilised inks which provide a constant image quality at high speed, the wide versatility of printable media – even heat sensitive media - and the industrial productivity that the solution offers.

Strong partnerships with technology producers are an asset in the Italian web-to-print strategy.  Tendorini explains, “HP has been our partner for a long time. The Indigo department is the digital core of our small format supply. Latex technology is an ally for vinyl and wide format paper. But our productivity needs require industrial systems, and a while ago we started a constructive cooperation with HP R&D department to express these needs and give our contribution for the finalisation of better performing solutions.”

[photo shows PixartPrinting's Alessandro Tenderini alongside HP's Latex team]