The company is enjoying a surge in demand for textile print such as soft signage and backdrops for for gigs, festivals and theatres.
The first MTEX cost £120,000 and chief executive James Sahota, who started in a small bedroom seven years ago, is looking into buying another in 12 to 18 months.
“It took ages to learn the ropes on the MTEX and understand about tension, torque and heat as well as the stretching of fabrics,” he said. “But it was worth it; it's a superb piece of equipment.”
Four-staff Group101 makes a turnover of almost £1m and also runs an HP Scitex flatbed machine, a CNC cutter and a Roland, Soljet Pro4 XR-640 printer/cutter, which it bought at Fespa 2013.
“The MTEX is running four-and-bit days every week and we hope fabric will become a core part of our business and overtake board work created on our flatbed.
“The textile market is still fresh and new and people are keen to explore. The fabrics we use don't crease and clean easily. A 25x3m fabric backdrop wraps up really small.”
Last year the company settled into a 1,000sqm facility in East Tilbury and as well as new MTEX is toying with buying another flatbed, maybe a Jetrix.
With the MTEX 5032Pro, Group101 prints directly on to textiles including Airmesh vent fabric for fencing banners, cafe barrier graphics, building wraps, POS and exhibition graphics.
The kit also does backlit fabric and blackout display fabric for where zero-light-shine-through is needed, and stretch fabric for display frames.
Sahota added: “The MTEX 5032Pro is a totally different beast from your standard wide-format printer. It’s a bit like the difference between driving a car and flying a plane.
“There are more factors to consider than when you’re just loading a roll of vinyl or a board, such as how the material behaves, and the effects of heat. It was a massive learning curve.
“But when the penny finally dropped I just had a big grin on my face. Thanks to our new soft signage solutions the MTEX is becoming a firm favourite with our network of trade clients.”
Group101 is looking to take on more staff, a production operator and two juniors, said Sahota: “Much as I love fabric, I need to stand back from production, run the business and meet clients.”
