Printing firm presses international buttons with support from Clydesdale Bank

DPi Print, based in Newhouse, has been provided with £850,000 by the bank to prototype a state-of-the-art, water-based, grand format printer, which, once produced, will be one of the largest and fastest commercial printing machines available on the market.

The innovative device, which will be named the Behemoth and built by DPI-Technologies Ltd, will be launched at a European trade show early next year, where it is expected to generate considerable interest from printing businesses across the globe.

Clydesdale Bank has provided support to DPi Print through the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) lending initiative – a scheme launched by the Government in January 2009 as part of its ‘Real Help for Business’ campaign. The EFG facilitates additional bank lending to viable Small and Medium Sized Enterprises as a tailored alternative to standard commercial loans.

Scottish Enterprise is supporting DPi print as it develops this new technology, which, once on the market is expected to create at least ten new jobs in the west of Scotland.

At present DPi Print employs 15 staff at its factory facility in Newhouse Industrial Estate. In 2010, the company reported its highest annual turnover to date of £1 million.

Over the next three years, DPi Print anticipates that it will generate between £6 million and £10 million through the sale of the Behemoth both in the UK and in overseas markets. Each machine will have a market value of approximately £500,000.

Martin Sharman, DPi Print’s Account Manager at Scottish Enterprise, said: "Scottish Enterprise has worked extensively with DPI-Technologies to provide an integrated package of support, including assistance from Scottish Development International in targeting new overseas markets, a review of its manufacturing operations from the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service as well as help in securing this investment from Clydesdale Bank.

"DPI-Technologies is exactly the kind of innovative, forward-thinking company we want to work with and by supporting ambitious companies like this we can ensure that they have the tools they need to realise their full potential and achieve their growth plans, creating more jobs in Scotland and ultimately boosting the Scottish economy."

Neil Berry, Business Development Partner at Clydesdale Bank’s Glasgow Financial Solutions Centre (FSC), said: “DPi Print is an excellent example of a Scottish business with big ambitions to grow internationally.

“The production of the Behemoth will bring a whole host of benefits to the central belt of Scotland – most notably in the form of economic development of the region through exporting this state-of-the-art product to overseas markets. Clydesdale Bank is delighted to support this quality management team as it embarks on this exciting new journey.”

Geoff Hall, Managing Director of DPi Print, said: “We are extremely excited about developing a prototype of the Behemoth – there is a great deal of demand for this type of large format, environmentally sustainable printing device across the world, and this will be a cutting edge piece of technology. It is a real coup for Scotland.

“The machine will use water-based ink and will be capable of printing directly onto environmentally friendly materials – there is no other device like this available on the market. We anticipate that the launch of the Behemoth will generate a great deal of interest from printing businesses in North America, Europe and South East Asia.

“We are delighted to be working with Clydesdale Bank and Scottish Enterprise on this exciting and ambitious project. The bank’s support has been key to unlocking the potential of this project and we look forward to a long and successful business banking partnership.”