Northern Flags has re-established a UK large-format print and finishing operation after an eight-year hiatus. The Leeds-based company - the UK arm of Europe’s largest printed fabrics supplier Faber Vlaggen - had moved all of its production to the group’s specialist digital and screen facilities in Poland and Thailand to capitalise on lower production costs. “Speed and agility to meet client demands brought us back to the UK,” explained managing director Iain Clasper-Cotte.
The company secured European funding to help with the expansion at Leeds, which has created seven new jobs and seen the appointment of new production manager Diane Middleton, who joined the business at the end of 2015 in preparation for the new production environment going live this month.
The specially built, air-conditioned, large-format print facility, which went live earlier in January 2016, houses a new 2.5m D-Gen Telios Black printer, specifically selected for its ability to deliver excellent show-through for the company’s core flag products, as well as exceptional quality on display fabrics. It’s also home to a new HP Latex 360 printer, which is enabling Northern Flags to extend its product offering and provide what Clasper-Cotte described as “easy to sell add-ons for our existing textile customers who also want other types of print.” That will be augmented in February with the addition of a new second generation Durst Omega machine.
“Having spent two years planning the launch of the print facility, we were delighted to find partners that understood our needs. RA Smart of Macclesfield and D-Gen worked alongside us and developed exclusive profiles for our machines, enabling us to match the quality from our group digital facility in Poland - a crucial requirement,” said Clasper-Cotte.
In addition Northern Flags has also established a new pick and pack centre to hold large stocks of custom POS and hardware for clients.