The partnership with Durst was announced at Fespa earlier this month, where the machine was also launched, with one Rhotex going into Ultima’s Nantes, France site in the week preceding the show and another due for installation in July in the UK.
A further two are then slated for delivery to the UK next year, one Rhotex 325 and one Durst UV machine, and from there Ultima may look to renew its machinery across its other European sites in Poland, Italy and Portugal.
Ultima UK managing director Osvaldo Gallio said: “It has been a very positive approach from Durst. We did evaluate from a diligence point of view because we are planning our three-year-investment plan on graphic equipment and we found them very open and looked more at our needs than others trying to sell a product.”
Launched as an upgrade for the Rhotex 322, the 3.2m-wide 325 is intended for the soft signage and textile markets. It uses a patented roll-to-transport system incorporating Durst’s WTS printhead technology.
Printing at a maximum speed in High Speed mode of up to 350sqm/hr at maximum 800dpi resolution, the machine runs CMYK plus optional light cyan and optional light magenta, although Ultima’s machine is only specified with CMYK.
“It is a high production machine,” said Gallio.
“We are not a wide-format printer organisation but we have our customers that are asking for fast turnarounds for smaller quantities. Having a high level of productivity on the machine then manages the demand more and does not let the customer down when they need them.
“There are machines that have the same productivity but the quality on the final result in terms of resolution is very good and colour vibrancy is very good.”
Gallio, who is also Ultima Europe chief operating officer, said the group may now relocate Ultima UK’s two Mimaki dye-sub machines to other European sites depending on the success of the Rhotex, with one already being transferred to Poland last year.
“We are looking at how we are going to specialise the different business units, we want to avoid duplication and use the best of our know-how across Europe,” added Gallio.
“We haven’t taken a financial commitment with Durst yet. If the level of the service and level of machine will be what it looks so far then there will be the opportunity.”
Ultima, which has sales of £37m, employs around 285 staff across its European operations. 150 are employed in Corby, which makes up just less than half (£17m) of the group’s overall sales, according to Gallio.
Founded in 1970, the group, whose parent company is German-headquartered P3 Group, manufactures a range of products, including roller banners, POS signage, backwall displays and lighting. It has a network of more than 6,000 dealers across Europe.
