The firm, which supplies offset, heatset, coldset and flexo print businesses both in the UK and internationally, began the move, from two existing London sites in Canning Town and Whetstone, in September after its previous leases expired.
The newly leased 2,044sqm distribution and sales office will support the company’s existing manufacturing bases in Bristol and Leeds, and distribution hubs in Nottingham and Dublin.
“We had a separate head office for years. The lease on that had expired and we were trying to be frugal so decided to consolidate the business,” said Ultrachem director Janet Brinton.
“By bringing the sales office and main distribution sites together we are able to reduce the chain of communication, reduce costs and improve operating efficiencies.
“All of these factors will result in a much slicker operation, which will see customers benefiting from faster deliveries, quicker response times and improved decision making. We try to be a customer-driven company and this move can only help us going forwards.”
Ultrachem has grown since the 1980s by acquiring a range of other businesses including Keane Graphics, RW Coatings, Solvo, GB Graphics, NEGS and Russell Webb Coatings.
These acquisitions have extended the firm’s offering into blanket conversion, commercial inks, plates and sundries and boosted its product range to the packaging and flexo industries.
“Along with the move, we are also currently adding to our team of business development managers in various areas in the UK. This will ensure we remain at the forefront of customer service and product innovation,” said Brinton.
“Ultrachem is evolving into a stronger, leaner operation. We are proud to have grown from a strong family philosophy, which puts good customer service and quality products first, and are excited to now be in a position to further develop Ultrachem as an industry prominent supplier.”
The business has also recently began stocking and promoting the Van Son VS range of sheetfed inks.
The VS1 series, which has been designed to perform strongly on any size press, offering consistent colour, rapid setting and drying times, is now available from Ultrachem in 2.5kg tins, 2kg cartridges and 200kg drums.
“The addition of VS1 to the Ultrachem sheetfed portfolio represents the start of an exciting and significant partnership with Van Son,” said Brinton.
“We will widen the VS portfolio early next year with some innovative new products. The VS3 series, which we will start selling in January, is more of a hard-dry ink and there’s another couple of inks that Van Son has asked us to trial which will complement the sets that we’re selling.”
Ultrachem, which was established in 1981, has 70 staff and a turnover of around £14m. It specialises in the manufacture of water-based coatings, UV lacquers, UV inks, founts, washes and pre-press chemistry as well as solvent blending and blanket conversion.
