From this week, Gardiner will manage and supply Roland branded media across the wide-format kit manufacturer’s EMEA dealer network, targeting products that are best suited to run on Roland technology.
Gardiner chief executive Tom Powell said: “We are overjoyed to have the incredible opportunity to work with an exceptional brand such as Roland DG. Their products are unparalleled within their field and we shall be providing no less with our media programme”.
Previously, the branded media programme was largely focused on dealers across the Benelux regions, but will now be expanded across Roland DG's full EMEA dealer network.
Gardiner has been in discussions with Roland for the past few months regarding taking over the substrates programme, and from this week will take over the task of supplying authorised Roland dealers with branded media.
“We’ll be managing the programme in its entirety, developing the range, deciding what goes in it, working with Roland on identifying, profiling and accrediting the best consumables that complement its printer range, and also working with the dealers in each of the countries, asking them what their customers are crying out for,” said Robyn Turner, Gardiner sales and marketing director.
“We will then develop the range and offer a portfolio out to the Roland DG dealers so that they can buy media from us that is specifically developed and tested for their machines. They, in turn, can then go out and sell it to the market.”
The range will include products manufactured by Gardiner, its partners, and also new and established suppliers to Roland’s previously inhouse programme.
“We do manufacture our own media, but we’re not going to turn away from Roland’s established media partners because there are certain technologies that we don’t make, and it’s in our interests to offer as a full and diverse range to the Roland dealers as possible,” said Turner.
50-staff Gardiner has invested millions of pounds in its manufacturing facilities in recent years. It now has three UK manufacturing sites, and as well as producing its own products it has £1.7m-worth of warehoused stock, which will be increased to £2.3m over the next three months.
“We are all very excited to work with this very agile and professional organisation,” said Paul Willems, Roland DG head of business development & product management.
“We have been offering Roland branded media for many years and it has been a highly successful program but now we are ready to take this to the next level”.
Gardiner has already added some slip-rated removable and permanent vinyls to the branded media range, for social distancing graphics. By the end of the summer it plans to have a “fully rounded” portfolio of 50 products in the branded media range, which previously consisted of around 30 media products.
Gardiner-owned G-Tec recently launched an anti-microbial print laminate.
