Derby-based Tecnograv now has three engraving sites and the combined company will reach sales of around 16m this year, said Hewson.

He said Tronic Gravures expertise in decorative work was a good fit with his existing business, which is focused on the packaging market.

"One of Tronics businesses is in the wallpaper market, which has come back into fashion in a big way," said Hewson, who is also interested in the possibility of exports in this market.

And Hewson was bullish about the prospects of the gravure market in general: "With our investment in technologies like plastic lightweight cylinders, gravure is becoming much more competitive for shorter-run jobs.

"It is beginning to compete with flexo printing, but with the high quality that you expect of gravure. Our whole industry is a lot more sophisticated than even a couple of years ago."

Story by Paul Nesbitt