"Les has knowledge and contacts that we don't," said Colour Systems joint managing director George Berg. "He will drive us into new markets."
The firm aims to quadruple its turnover over the next three years, expanding beyond its pre-press roots to become a one-stop shop offering design through to production.
"There's no reason why we won't end up doing high-end video," said group technical director Simon Berg, pictured.
It believes that there is interest in the market based on the experience of sister design firm Fresh 01, which has found clients asking about pre-press services during design pitches.
It aims to branch out beyond its current magazine repro focus and provide services to other sectors, including packaging.
To allow Pipe and the current management to focus on developing the business, Dominic Duffy, Dean Agembar and Brett Grange have been made directors.
At the heart of its offering is its suite of six internet-based pre-press tools, which it is promoting under the brand GRACE - Global Realtime Asset Control Engine. These include Systemassets asset management, Quickproof remote proofing, Syndicator for rights management, Template Wizard for online job generation using customisable templates, and Workflow Window, which is a job tracking system.
The firm employs 130 staff and expects turnover this year to be £6.6m.
Story by Barney Cox
