Industrial Inkjet (IIJ) has celebrated its 15 anniversary, with the inkjet system supplier predicting further growth in its future.
Despite challenging circumstances, including Brexit and the Coronavirus pandemic, the company reported a record year in 2020 and has plans to launch new products in 2021.
IIJ was formed by current managing director John Corrall at the suggestion of Konica Minolta in Japan, which was looking for someone to support its printhead customers in Europe and the US.
Mr Corrall explained, ‘Mr Ohno, president of Konica Minolta’s inkjet printhead division, invited me to meet him for dinner while he was passing through Heathrow. About the second beer he suggested working for Konica Minolta, but when I mentioned setting up a new company his reply was ‘fine you can be our partner.’. I don’t think I really had much say in the decision.’
Starting in a small converted farm building, the first employee hired was Lesley Scanlon, who is still with the company as a director and general manager. Around 2008 the company started to branch out into manufacturing inkjet print engines.
‘At that time, we were dedicated to helping machine builders integrate Konica Minolta inkjet printheads successfully,’ Mr Corrall concluded. ‘But we found ourselves solving the same technical issues over and over. It made sense to take that knowledge and create inkjet modules that our customers could then easily integrate.’
Now with more than 50 staff and operating out of a 17,000sqft facility near Cambridge, IIJ has installed over 500 inkjet print engines worldwide. Key business areas are security printing, packaging and décor. Satellite offices are located in the US and South Africa.
