Durham Box opens doors with inkjet

The Nozomi at Durham Box is in a new extension to the factory needed to cope with growth driven by the investment.

Durham Box is the first, and until recently, the only UK corrugated printer with the EFI Nozomi single-pass inkjet printer in the world, one of nearly 40 installations of the press.

It took delivery of the machine in 2019 and after bedding in and educating customers to the potential of the press, has been printing with it since. And it is changing the shape of the business.

“The Nozomi has opened several new market sectors for Durham Box and allowed us to move into producing high quality POS display, ecommerce, and luxury packaging as well as fast turnaround samples,” says a spokesman. “Currently we see the growth coming from digital and important services associated with digital.”

With growing demand, for conventional as well as digital print, the company has started to address new markets and to prepare for its next phase of growth. In particular it has been targeting the FMCG sector and further expansion in retail following investment on its finishing side.

This has included a Bobst die cutter and gluer and a large format flatbed cutting table.

With the help of a regional growth fund grant the company added a 2,000m² extension and reorganised the factory layout for greater efficiency.

At the end of last year Steve Dowbekin was named general manager as part of a business expansion and more recently Jon Blackbourn has been appointed business development manager for the Midlands and South. The existence of the Nozomi C18000 was “a major factor and a big influence on my decision to come and work here,” says Blackbourn. 

In contrast, Dowbekin has come from the client side with a background in the food and retailing sector, both of which are targets for Durham Box.

“Customers see the benefit of the Nozomi not just in terms of quality but the environmental benefits it delivers. The ability to create fast turnaround jobs, perfect for reactive point of sale displays, shelf ready packaging and samples allows customers with tight deadlines to achieve their goals. This has allowed us to engage with customers who historically would not have considered Durham Box,” says its spokesman.