Duplo executives including managing director Peter Jolly (left) and chairman Robin Greenhalgh (right) celebrate with Rapidity’s Paul and Ben Manning (centre and centre right).
Duplo unveiled a return to an old brand name and signed up some new sales successes at its latest London Calling event at the start of November.
In a return to the company’s name from the 1980s, Duplo announced at London Calling that it has decided to resurrect the brand name PFi (Print Finishing International) for products that are made by alternative manufacturers, to standards and specifications set by Duplo. Examples of products that will now bear the PFi pre-fix are the former UltraBind 6000 PUR (made by Hungarian manufacturer Rigo), which is now the PFi Bind 6000 PUR, and the new UV coater, the PFi Coat 300, which is made by Print Mail Solutions and is currently in use at Prime Group. The Ideal guillotines will remain as such however.
Duplo said that the sub-branding would also help it sell products around the world, and head of commercial Alex North said: ‘There is a huge amount of history and pride in the PFi name. It’s a win-win situation as our business continues to grow. Duplo remains our overarching brand and business name and that is not going to change.’
The event, which took place at west London photographic venue Sunbeam Studios, saw a good deal of commercial success for the company too. Attending London Calling, were Paul and Ben Manning from Rapidity and Patrick Chard from Murrays in Milton Keynes. Both companies have invested in new Duplo equipment with a view to adding A4 landscape finishing to their repertoire.
Rapidity has bought the Duplo iSaddle booklet stitcher, which will replace an old Horizon StitchLiner. The iSaddle will complement the Ricoh Pro C9100 press that Rapidity recently signed for, with both machines due for installation in the second week of November. ‘Our old finishing systems just couldn’t keep up, nor do A4 landscape work, which is a massive new business opportunity for us going forward,’ said Ben Manning. ‘The iSaddle meets our requirements perfectly because it is so easy to use by anybody, has full automation and provides high quality finished products at the touch of a button. The A4 landscape option will dramatically increase our ability to win contracts.’
Murrays has invested in Duplo’s 600i booklet maker. In effect, this will be a field upgrade, as the company already uses a System 5000 with intelligent collators and three-knife trimming. It will keep these units at either end, and upgrade the folding, stitching and first trim units in the middle, with the 600i giving it A4 landscape capability. The HP Indigo house is also weighing up press options to allow it to print long banner sheets.
‘Being able to do A4 landscape is the real difference for us,’ Patrick Chard told Digital Printer. ‘It’s a format that we are asked for fairly often in smaller and smaller quantities. Customers want their marketing material to stand out and be different and A4 landscape seems to do that.’
Purchases of a Duplo iSaddle Booklet System by Manor Printing Services’, and 600i Booklet Systems by Berkhamsted-based The Print Centre and MPC Printing Solutions in Enfield, were also completed at the event.
Among the new products on display at London Calling was Duplo’s latest multi-finisher, the DC-746. Product manager Andy Pike explained that the 746 improves upon the DC-745, which it replaces, with more flexibility and automation in setting up its perforating modules, allowing for down and cross perforating. It also has an optional waste conveyor, which takes paper trimmings out of the DC-746 and through to a high capacity bin, rather than the internal waste bins of the DC-745, which needed to be regularly emptied in high volume environments.
Overall, Duplo hailed this seventh year of London Calling as a success, and said that deals worth almost £750,000 were signed as well as adding a pipeline of new sales prospects for it and its partners, Antalis, Apogee, BPIF, Fujifilm, Grafitec, Infigo, Neopost, Proskills, Renz and Vivid Laminating Systems.
Hundreds of visitors had live demonstrations of innovative workflows, while seven product launches, the inaugural London meeting of the Duplo Owners’ Club, a meeting of the HP Young Entrepreneurs’ Network, a BPIF Apprentices’ Forum and a PrintIT! school visit all took place over a busy two days. A cheque for £4340 was handed over to the Proskills PrintIT! Schools into Industry programme, following a year-long fundraising campaign pioneered by Duplo and its partners.
