Following a move to a new leased unit in November the County Durham-based business took delivery of a second HP Scitex FB500 flatbed printer and a Summa F-Series cutter in December. This follows the company’s first Scitex FB500 buy last April.
“Acquiring our first flatbed printer allowed us to be much more competitive on price, to bid for bigger contracts and move into new areas such as cut-outs, signage and display boxes,” said managing director Juliette Middlebrough.
“We soon realised we needed another printer and a cutter to meet the growing demand. Because we were taking on lots of bigger runs, we felt that if we had two flatbeds we could run larger jobs across the two machines, or put one job on one machine and it wouldn’t create a bottleneck of work.”
The business also considered alternatives from Durst and Kongsberg but found the HP and Summa devices best matched its requirements with regard to pricing and usability.
The firm, which also operates two HP Designjet machines and a Xerox digital laser press, moved across to its new premises on Number One Industrial Estate in Consett in November, a month before the new machines were installed. The company had previously been based on another slightly smaller unit on the same industrial estate.
“Our old unit was more of an office space but once we reinvested in the business and brought the flatbeds in we felt that we needed to look for something more industrial with more space,” said Middlebrough.
“This premises is on a newer and more up-and-coming part of the industrial estate. It’s given us a bit of an uplift to be situated in a more attractive area. We now have the potential for at least 30% more capacity and the workflow is generally far better.”
The company has also won a range of new contracts, including a recently agreed deal to produce thousands of roll-top exhibition banners.
“We have also just secured a further two-year contract with our local authority for large-format products and a new two-year contract for signage,” said Middlebrough.
UK Steel Enterprise, the Tata Steel business-support subsidiary, has also backed the company’s £130,000 investment drive with a £25,000 unsecured loan.
“The support from UK Steel Enterprise has been fantastic and the unsecured loan was crucial to our expansion plans. The whole process was very thorough but also speedy,” said Middlebrough.
Support also came from the Regional Growth Fund, through Lombard Asset Finance, and the government-funded Growth Accelerator programme.
“We need to keep investing in equipment, systems and our workforce to stay competitive, and we already plan to develop the e-commerce side further,” said Middlebrough.
“I have been through some difficult times but I am very proud of the business and feel we are now in an excellent position to concentrate on growth.”
Design X-Press has a turnover of £700,000, which it hopes to increase to £1m within the next four years. It currently employs nine staff but expects to be able to create six new jobs in the near future.
The business produces posters, leaflets, banners, signs, exhibition stands, canvas photos and digital wallpapers for customers including design agencies, print management companies, government accounts and local authorities.
