Neil Stevenson
Brendan Perring speaks to Neil Stevenson, managing director of Grafityp, about how the company continually reinvents itself and its plans for the first edition of SignLink Live in October
Saturday, 28 Jan 2017 21:07 GMT
Neil Stevenson, managing director of Grafityp, first joined the company in 1991 as a sales engineer in the machinery division
Grafityp is one of the graphic arts industry’s biggest and most established brands. How have you managed to continually re-invent yourself and what is your current focus for development?
We are constantly watching, listening, and learning. The sign and print industries are fluid, and changes and alters its direction and requirement over time. What is popular this month can become unwanted in six months’ time, so having the right products at the right time is paramount.
As part of a manufacturing group, we have to be extremely good at market anticipation and thankfully we have many people within the group that have spent their whole working lives in this industry, who can offer guidance on product development and requirement.
2017 will be another big year for Grafityp, with new product releases planned during the first few months of the year bringing exciting core product evolution as well as a brand new e-commerce web shop due to go online during January to replace our existing one.
2017 will be another big year for Grafityp with new product releases planned during the first few months of the year bringing exciting core product evolution”
Our main core strength I believe is our people, their knowledge and belief in our products, and continued effort to be the best sales people warehouse people, technical support, and print technicians in the industry.
We also have a massive advantage over many suppliers in that we are part of a manufacturing group, so 80 percent plus of the materials we offer are made by Grafityp in Europe and conform to all the strictest standards and regulations.
Grafityp manufacture all its own digitally printable films
During last year, we released our new M Series range of self-adhesive print media, ten variations and in different widths, and it has been a huge hit with both existing and brand new customers alike. Likewise, for our cast self-adhesive print media, the addition of a very high gloss option in S39, and a matching laminate have also been well received by customers.
You recently revealed you would be exhibiting at The Print Show 2017 for its third year and new show SignLink Live. What drove that decision?
The first Print Show in 2015 started really well and then improved during the second year, so year three should be massive. We know that there is a change in location, but we also know that The Print Show team can always bring in a good exhibition.
It is positioned at a great time in the calendar and allows us chance to meet with our old and new customers again going into the last quarter of the year and show them the latest offers and materials. Adding Signlink Live gives this an even greater pull, it means there is now genuinely something for everyone in the sign and print industries.
With print in one hall and non-print items in a separate hall, you can choose what you want to look at with ease and from our point of view that makes this exhibition of great interest to a much wider potential audience.
With so much global upheaval last year, not to mention Brexit, how did you find 2016 in terms of your customers’ mood?
2016 was a strange year and of course it impacted on many things that none of us could control. Customers, on the whole, had to get on with their business in the same way we all did, and customer confidence on the whole was very good. Of course, when things happen, especially if unexpected, you get a brief lull whilst people absorb it, but we deal with business people and they are fully aware that you have to continue without letting outside influences interfere anymore than they have to.
So, pick me the top piece of printing equipment on your books, and why is it worth investigating?
Neil Stevenson highlights the Roland TrueVIS range of print and cut machines as worth investigating. Pictured: Roland TrueVIS SG-300
In my opinion, the new Roland TrueVIS range of print and cut machines are definitely worth investigation. Their brand new design, versatility, print speed, and print quality make them the new machine of choice. Combine one with a laminator and materials pack, and your business can suddenly move in new directions because of versatility or produce better profit margins from lower costs, or respond to demand faster because of improved productivity, or offer improved quality due to new print head technology.
In my opinion, the new Roland TrueVIS range of print and cut machines are definitely worth investigation”
You are running ‘The Swap Shop’ at SignLink Live, do you think sign-makers are still missing a trick when it comes to offering speciality vinyl colour change and vehicle enhancement?
Yes, I am sure many assume they need a printer and laminator to do any type of wrapping, but with our extensive range of automotive and deco films you simply do not. Many also think wrapping is just about planes, trains, and automobiles, but again it is not. You can wrap a wide variety of things: doors, cupboards, desks, chairs, beds, vending machines, storage boxes, tables, cycles, skateboards, and how about a carbon fibre effect garage door? We want to use the swap shop to introduce a new audience to the possibilities of Grafi Wrap colour change and special effect materials.
Grafityp will use SignLink Live’s ‘Swap Shop’ to ‘introduce a new audience to the possibilities of Grafi Wrap colour change and special effect materials’
Key stats
- New e-commerce web shop to open in 2017
- 80 percent of materials made by Grafityp in Europe
- 3rd time exhibiting at The Print Show
- Stevenson joined Grafityp in 1991
Your text here...
