Durst Group, has this week at drupa, announced a partnership with Titchfield Group that involves an £8million investment planned for UK and international sites over the next three years.
Titchfield Group is the UK’s largest provider of out-of-home (OOH) advertising services. A major supplier of commercial property build and refurbishment services, it also has a dedicated media services division. With headquarters in Cuffley, Hertfordshire, Titchfield Group also has four other UK operations as well as international sites in France, Spain, Italy and Germany.
The first stage in the collaboration with Durst Group involves installing two industrial digital production machines going into the Titchfield Media 100,000 sq ft production plant in Cardiff. One will be the Aleph Laforte 600 Paper printing system that achieves an output of up to 1,000 sqm/h and reaches a new level of quality in poster and billboard printing with six colors and 1,200 dpi. Using water-based and sustainable printing technologies, the Aleph installation will be in June. The Durst P5 350 HSR D4 3.5m roll-to-roll LED machine printing up to 670 sqm/h will be installed late summer.
Titchfield founder Nigel Brunt said: ‘Before committing to a partnership with Durst, which is highly regarded and respected in the industry, we did a lot of research. I visited many factories in China and across Europe, crawled all over FESPA and spent many weeks of trials and demonstrations. I analysed the total cost of ownership and Durst stood out as offering the best solutions for our business, development and growth.
‘Hand on heart, I am a big fan of Durst because I am a big fan of printing. I am also impressed by the advanced software offering, enhancing the total solution. All these reasons made it a compelling choice to partner with Durst Group. It has incredible manufacturing facilities, plus it is the only factory I have ever known that cultivates its own honey and olive oil!’
Mr Brunt added: ‘Print is not in decline in out of home. It’s just evolving. And I know there is significant growth in print for outdoor signage, which is environmentally friendly with the opportunity for direct sales to site owners as well. I am incredibly optimistic for the future. We have an £8million capital investment plan over the next three years on print with Durst.’
Christoph Gamper, Durst Group CEO and co-owner, said: ‘We are delighted to announce this partnership at drupa. With a focus on innovation, quality and exceptional customer service, we share the same core values as Titchfield Group and are delighted to be partnering with them as they seek to substantially expand their operations within the next three years. Durst Group, driven by the mantra of innovation, offers complete solutions from pixel to output. In a collaborative approach, we support our customers on their own business journey and help them with a vision: to create something new, to inspire and to always ask the next question.’
Peter Bray, managing director of Durst UK and Ireland, said: ‘We really appreciate the trust placed in Durst Group by Titchfield. We’re looking forward to a strong working relationship with Titichfield as they develop and grow through our market-leading technology.’
