Liyu England is making a comeback, but not as a sales channel for the Liyu range of large format printers renamed as Platinum Technologies. Distribution of the machines in the UK has passed to Soyang Europe and to Perfect Colours, while Liyu England, which built the brand in the UK, reverts to its roots in service and support.
The shake up has followed the return of Liyu England managing director Eddie Tucker who stood aside from the business for a year to fight a double dose of cancer. With uncertainty over Tucker’s future the Turkish brand appointed new distributors for the UK. Liyu England pulled out of the Print Show last year, where it had previously been one of the show’s largest exhibitors.
Now CMYUK has moved to give Tucker’s shrunken business a future as the first agent for the business. The Liyu England business has a “more focused, sustainable model built around customer relationships, technical value and long term growth”. This includes building on the strong relationships with Liyu customers to introduce CMYUK’s technical and application support, its training and showroom facilities, though these will not have Liyu machines on show.
Customers wanting to see Liyu machines will need to visit a showroom that Soyang Europe is opening in Accrington.
CMYUK chief commercial officer Robin East says of Tucker: “He knows the industry dynamics, he understands the equipment landscape and the importance of helping customers create efficient holistic production environments. The new agreement gives Eddie the platform to continue supporting that community, but now with the full backing of CMYUK behind him.”
A key expression of this will be the creation of profiles to match textile substrates from Ufabrik that can be a new revenue area sats CMYUK, supported by training videos and the suite of JWei cutting tables and other technologies that the Shrewsbury business can offer.
Tucker himself says: “Liyu England has strategically chosen to anchor itself within the CMYUK ecosystem because it gives my customers access to a level of infrastructure, knowledge and product choice that can genuinely support their next stage of growth.”
Before winning distribution of the Chinese made printers, Tucker’s company was based on service and support for Inca large format presses in particular.
Tucker will be on hand at the Print Show at the end of September as part of CMYUK’s 180m2 stand, on the far side from Soyang Europe and Perfect Colour which abut each other.
Soyang Europe announced its distribution partnership with Platinum Technologies LIYU ahead of Fespa in May. The deal covers England, Scotland and Wales and includes the Signature and Platinum ranges of roll and flatbed machines.
Its CEO Mark Mashiter says: “We have been admirers of Platinum Technologies LIYU for some time, and we are delighted to be adding their printers to our portfolio of leading solutions. Our long standing relationships and experience working directly with manufacturing partners in China have given us a strong understanding of what customers require in terms of quality, reliability and support. We believe Platinum Technologies LIYU is exceptionally well positioned to meet those demands in the GB market.”
Perfect Colours announced its appointment as an official distributor at Fespa in Barcelona. It has created a dedicated website platinumtechnologies.co.uk to back up the demonstration facility in Sheffield. It had previously been a seller for the technology, along with Atech which no longer has any connection to the technology.
Managing director Jason Burroughs says: “We are delighted to become an official UK distributor for Platinum Technologies products. Their technology offers exceptional performance and value, making it an excellent fit for businesses looking to expand and modernise their production capabilities.”
