The Garstang, Lancashire-based exhibition stand manufacturer is set to spend around £250,000 across the back end of 2018 and the start of 2019 as it prepares to take on a new UV printer while adding a seventh unit to its premises and constructing a new mezzanine floor for its office.
The business, founded in 2004 by co-directors Diarmuid Beary and Sally Hiscutt, was boosted in 2014 by a £40,000 loan from Lancashire County Council’s Rosebud Micro business investment fund. The money was used to purchase a new HP Latex 365 printer, bring in stock for its specialised Vision exhibition stand system and develop a new website.
Display Wizard has now grown to a £2.75m-turnover business with a headcount of 25; it turned over £682,000 and employed six people in 2010.
“Our aim is to be the go-to supplier for exhibitions and display stands,” said Beary. “We want to be able to cater for all sizes of business. We do pull-up banners for small clients, a mid-range modular product, and full exhibition stand hire at a premium level.
“The thinking is that the small clients will gradually grow to become the premium ones, and I think that will be down to the customer service and the reputation that we are building on.
“We will spend the quiet time through December making our investments and aim to have them running by early 2019. We have gone from a two-unit operation working three or four shows a year to spanning seven units and working something closer to 30 shows.”
Display Wizard currently runs six HP Latex 365 printers in its portfolio. The new addition has yet to be confirmed, though Beary said his eyes were on InkTec Jetrix and EFI Vutek machines.
The six-unit operation currently runs two units for sales, two for production and two for storage. The soon-to-open seventh unit will accommodate both production and storage, with the aim of cutting costs by increasing the capacity of both, as well as creating two new jobs.
Its Vision exhibition system – a signature of the firm’s offering – uses a recyclable modular aluminium frame to create bespoke stands that are an environmentally-friendly alternative to wooden stands. The system now makes up 30% of Display Wizard’s orders.
The firm’s customers include the BBC, Trustpilot, the Bank of England, and Mercedes.
