Park Communications has been acquired by European Graphius Group, best known for its sheet-fed litho printing products, to gain access to additional resources and services.
The deal will see Park, whose KBA B1 litho and B2 Indigo digital presses are complemented by a full finishing department including an 18-station PUR binder, continue trading under its existing brand while leadership team Alison Branch, managing director, and Heath Mason, CEO, remain in their current roles.
Denis Geers and Philippe Geers, the grandchildren of the Graphius’ founder, have also joined the board along with Joris Deckers, the company’s UK sales director. The European printing group, founded in 1928 in Ghent, Belgium, has operations in Brussels, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris. The company had sales of €100million (£86.5million at current rates) in 2021.
The acquisition is expected to bring a number of benefits including increased case-binding capabilities for Park clients, greater flexibility and choice around long-run litho productions, economies of sale and further investment around sustainable printing. This will enable clients to enable production of long runs and the opportunity to print in the UK or Europe.
Graphius CEO Denis Geers said, ‘The acquisition of Park is a well considered move towards becoming a local producer in the UK. Our existing broad UK customer base, the competence of Park’s staff, and its high quality production facilities located where they are in London, convinced us to take this step.’
Park CEO Heath Mason, added, ‘For some years, we have been looking for the right partner to take Park forward for the next 30 years. This is for our employees, our clients and for our suppliers. We have been speaking with Denis and Philippe for nearly three years, and over that time have built a relationship of trust and understanding. Graphius and Park have a very similar culture, which really cares for its stakeholders.’
Park, which specialises in high-end printing for auctions, magazines, brand advertising and financial services, claims it will now be able to offer services to other segments of the printing market thanks to this merger.
