The deal, which was first announced in June, was completed on Friday (1 November) with 91 UK Xerox staff transferring to Antalis UK under TUPE as a result. As well as the UK, the European-wide deal encompasses Xerox’s office businesses in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The new division, Antalis Document Supplies, will be headed up in the UK and Ireland by general manager Doug Bishop, a Xerox veteran of 38 years who has led the company’s UK office paper business for the past six years. He will report to Hunter. The Xerox brand name will continue to be used on the 1,000-strong product portfolio inherited by Antalis, which, as well as paper, includes wide-format and non-paper substrates. While Hunter declined to reveal the precise scale of the UK Xerox office operation, he said that a “good proportion” of the €300m sales it would add to Antalis’ European operations would be generated in the UK. Prior to the completion of the deal, Antalis UK had sales of around £476m and 980 staff. It operates two central distribution centres and 14 regional branches across the UK and Ireland. Antalis currently markets 14,000 products. However, following the completion of the Xerox deal this will increase to 15,000. Hunter hinted that over time there may be some consolidation of the product range, but this would be in consultation with customers. He also signalled that Antalis would work closely on new product development with Xerox. However, he stressed that the integration of the Xerox business would be carefully structured, to ensure continuity for customers. “We’ve got two very good businesses here, so we have the luxury of time to look at a really sensible way of moving forward, to make sure we get it right,” he said. Following the completion of the sale, Hunter said that there are no immediate plans to reduce headcount, although he added that, as with all companies, the cost base of the business is under constant review. “The important thing for customers is that it is business as usual. The people they spoke to at Xerox last week will be the same people they speak to at Antalis UK this week,” said Hunter. He said the initial focus would be in supply chain synergies, including purchasing, with the integration of the rest of the back office functions following shortly afterwards. According to Bishop while the two companies have a number of shared customers “when we looked at the alignment, we’ve not had that much of overlap”, which according to Hoyne represents a significant opportunity for Antalis. “Because we have such varied components to our business, cross-selling...

In a surprise move the two companies announced a partnership deal this morning (5 November), at the same time as Heidelberg announced its half-year results. Described as “a broad alliance aimed at strengthening existing business and establishing a platform for future-oriented markets,” the manufacturers highlighted the commercial and packaging print markets as key target areas. Heidelberg chief executive Gerold Linzbach said he envisaged Heidelberg’s digital business overall (including its existing equipment) generating sales of more than €200m within three years. The two suppliers will also aim to exploit synergies in each company’s global network of customers, and sales and support operations. As well as next-generation inkjet printing products, they will share their know-how in pre-press. Shigetaka Komori, chairman and chief executive of Fujifilm corporation, described Heidelberg’s reputation among printers as “unique”. “With Heidelberg’s global market present in the printing industry we can introduce our products to new customer groups and increase their potential.” Fujifilm acquired inkjet head manufacturer Dimatix in 2006. It first showed its sheetfed B2 inkjet colour press, the Jet Press 720, in 2008 and subsequently launched a colour inkjet web. The first Jet Press 540W in the world has recently been installed at book printer Bell & Bain in Glasgow. This is Heidelberg’s third major alliance for digital printing. It teamed up with Kodak to develop the NexPress, which launched at Drupa 2000, but the joint venture came to an end in 2004 when Heidelberg sold its stake for just $1 and Kodak took sole ownership. In 2011 Heidelberg teamed up with Ricoh for production printers, in a partnership that is ongoing. Stephen Palmer, production print director at Ricoh UK, said: “It is business as usual for us. We are delighted with the progress we have made with Heidelberg, both at head office and UK levels, and we will continue to develop the partnership going forward.” This is the second major manufacturer alliance to be announced within a week. Komori and Landa announced a strategic alliance on 1 November....

In the three months to 30 September sales at the group were up on the previous quarter’s €504m (£424m), but down 14.9% year-on-year at €593m. Half-year sales fell 9.9% to €1.09bn. EBITDA (earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in the quarter jumped to €33m from €13m. The world’s largest press manufacturer is still losing almost €1m a week, but it more than halved its net losses at the half-year stage from €108m to €47m. It also reduced its net debt by €118m to €239m. Heidelberg said the strong euro combined with weak currencies in the US, Japan, India and Brazil had hit sales to the tune of €42m in the first half, while the prior year was also boosted by Drupa sales. The manufacturer shed a further 1,129 jobs in the period as part of its Focus 2012 restructuring initiative, and now has 13,616 employees worldwide. It said the EBITDA improvement was the result of Focus 2012 actions, price increases, and “a gradual scaling back of low margin business.” Heidelberg is pushing its workforce for more flexible working hours and stated that its operating break-even point “needs to be adjusted further in order to be better prepared for volatility in individual markets.” This will involve additional exceptional restructuring costs this financial year. Chief executive Gerold Linzbach said the results had “exceeded our expectations” and that Heidelberg had made “major progress toward achieving our target for the year of a net profit.” It announced the results alongside news of a major strategic alliance with Fujifilm for inkjet printing. Heidelberg shares rose by 12 cents to €2.10 in early trading....

In the three months to 30 September sales at the group were up on the previous quarter’s €504m (£424m), but down 14.9% year-on-year at €593m. Half-year sales fell 9.9% to €1.09bn. EBITDA (earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in the quarter jumped to €33m from €13m. The world’s largest press manufacturer is still losing almost €1m a week, but it more than halved its net losses at the half-year stage from €108m to €47m. It also reduced its net debt by €118m to €239m. Heidelberg said the strong euro combined with weak currencies in the US, Japan, India and Brazil had hit sales to the tune of €42m in the first half, while the prior year was also boosted by Drupa sales. The manufacturer shed a further 1,129 jobs in the period as part of its Focus 2012 restructuring initiative, and now has 13,616 employees worldwide. It said the EBITDA improvement was the result of Focus 2012 actions, price increases, and “a gradual scaling back of low margin business.” Heidelberg is pushing its workforce for more flexible working hours and stated that its operating break-even point “needs to be adjusted further in order to be better prepared for volatility in individual markets.” This will involve additional exceptional restructuring costs this financial year. Chief executive Gerold Linzbach said the results had “exceeded our expectations” and that Heidelberg had made “major progress toward achieving our target for the year of a net profit.” It announced the results alongside news of a major strategic alliance with Fujifilm for inkjet printing. Heidelberg shares rose by 12 cents to €2.10 in early trading....

The Slough-based supplier launched its new digital textile division, headed by Peter Miles, at the end of August in response to customer demand. The new textiles, targeting UV, dye-sub, solvent and latex wide-format printers and sign makers, include brand names Red-Eye, Butterfly and Man O’ War. Miles said: “This is just the start. We’ll be launching two more products in the division in the next two weeks and we aim to eventually push the portfolio up to around 20 to 25 products.” “The soft signage market is booming in the UK at the moment, demand is massive, and it’s really important we don’t miss that boat,” he added. “We are taking a really proactive approach on this. We are listening to our customers and this growth we are investing in should prove that.” Red-Eye, designed for printing roll-ups, hanging banners, backlit displays and tents, is a 225gsm matt white woven, water-resistant fabric suitable for dye-sublimation, solvent and latex inks. The 1.5m-wide rolls are available in 25m and 100m lengths and cost £187 and £680 respectively. Butterfly is a 120gsm, matt white knitted, double-sided flag fabric compatible with solvent and latex printing. Targeted at the beach flag, tear-drop and feather flag market, the 1,520mm x 25m rolls are priced at £130. Third in the new range, Man O’ War, is a woven 200gsm fabric for UV, dye-sub, solvent and latex inks. Its water-resistant, fire-retardant and crease-free properties are designed for use on inflatables, tents, parasols, tension and backlit displays. The fabric is available in 1, 520mm x 35m rolls at £245 each. APS, which Miles said has experienced record sales over the past two months, has a turnover of around £12m and employs around 42 people across its Slough and Rotherham sites....