Graphius Group makes second acquisition in United Kingdom

Graphius Group proudly announces that its subsidiary Park Communications has acquired the renowned London-based printer Geoff Neal Litho. Founded in 1976 by the father of current CEO Sam Neal, Geoff Neal Litho is known in the UK for its high-quality printing and direct mail services. The company, with a turnover of £11 million and 35 employees, will continue to operate from its existing location in Feltham, near Heathrow Airport, with the experienced management team remaining in place to ensure operational continuity.

This strategic acquisition by Park Communications not only strengthens Graphius’s presence in the United Kingdom but also offers significant synergy advantages for both companies. Thanks to the modern production facilities of Park Communications in Beckton, London, and Geoff Neal’s considerable expertise, we can offer our clients a broader range of services and economies of scale.

Heath Mason, CEO of Park Communications, highlights the importance of this acquisition: “Geoff Neal Litho, with its strong reputation for quality and reliability, is a perfect complement to Park Communications. We are excited to work alongside Sam Neal and his team to build the future of the company.”

Sam Neal, CEO of Geoff Neal, adds: “The shared culture of Graphius, Park, and Geoff Neal – with genuine care for our stakeholders – gives me great confidence in the future. I look forward to further developing Geoff Neal within the Graphius family.”

With this acquisition, Graphius Group makes another important step in the United Kingdom, its third-largest market.

Bietlot joins Graphius Group

We are pleased to announce Bietlot, located in Charleroi, is integrating into Graphius Group with effect from 19 August 2024. The aim of this strategic merger is to strengthen Bietlot’s capabilities while preserving its autonomy and unique identity.

By joining Graphius Group, Bietlot will benefit from economies of scale as well as targeted investments, enabling the printer to further improve the quality and flexibility of its services. ‘We are honoured to be joining Graphius Group, which will enable us to devote more resources to our core business while continuing to offer our customers the personalised service and excellence they have come to expect,’ said Eric Guillaume, Managing Director of Bietlot.

The partnership will also provide Bietlot with access to the latest technologies, particularly for specialist markets, while retaining its team, sales approach and long-standing customer relationships. ‘Integrating into Graphius Group is a crucial step for Bietlot, as it opens up new prospects while guaranteeing the continuity of our service and independence,’ added Eric Guillaume.

With great pride and excitement, we hereby announce that ‘Graphius North America’ (Graphius NA) will officially begin on 1 June. From our base in Toronto, Canada, we will serve our clients in Canada and North America.

Graphius NA is to be led by Lucas Elke, with whom Graphius has now collaborated closely for several years. Lucas has a master’s degree in art history from the University of Toronto, but has worked almost his entire career in the graphics industry—his great passion.

We are certain that Lucas and his team have everything they need to be of optimal service to our clients. They will take care of communication and advice, checking files and transport.

As well as this, they will make new business contacts and further develop Graphius activities for the American and Canadian markets.

Our address in New York will be kept and used by Lucas Elke and his team as a meeting location.

Graphius North America

22 Ripley Avenue, Toronto, Canada

Lucas.elke@graphius.com – Tel +1 647 992 4178

Graphius New York

530 7th Avenue, Suite 902, New York, USA

For its London and Ghent sites, Graphius Group is investing in two latest-generation Heidelberg 106-10 colour presses. This type of machine equipped with a lot of AI technology, will be presented at Drupa in Düsseldorf this summer and will be installed at Graphius shortly afterwards.

The investment programme also includes the implementation of new folding machines, a digital printing press HP Indigo 15,000 and advanced robotics during the year.

Graphius Group is reducing its ecological footprint and opting for Adamas chemical-free offset printing plates from ECO3.

As a trendsetting international player in the graphics sector, Graphius strives for sustainable production. For example, we make conscious choices at every step in the production process. ‘The choice of the Adamas chemical-free printing plates from ECO perfectly reflects this and ensures our print preparations are considerably greener,’ says CEO Denis Geers. ‘In concrete terms, the waste stream generated by the fluids for the plate preparations will be reduced by at least 50%. Our choice of the Adamas plate has to do with the ecological benefits and the performance on one hand, while on the other, it was important for us to choose a partner with production capacity in Europe. After all, transport also has a major ecological impact.’

Frederik Dehing, Global Head of Sales at ECO3, confirms this. ‘With our Adamas chemical-free offset plates, our clients are taking an important step when it comes to sustainability. In the case of Graphius Group, this means not only saving hundreds of thousands of litres of water, but also avoiding the use of large amounts of corrosive development fluids. This is because the Adamas plates do not need any rinsing water and are washed with a limited amount of pH-neutral gum.’

ECO3 has its headquarters in Belgium. The company produces its offset plates for the European market in Germany. ‘At ECO3, we chose a global production infrastructure with a firm footing in Europe. This is a conscious choice made to ensure the maximum availability of our products to our clients. I am pleased that Graphius Group also attaches great value to this,’ says Dehing.

Going through almost 500,000 m² of aluminium printing plates every year, Graphius Group is one of the largest printing groups in Europe. After printing, the high-quality aluminium offset plates are recycled, with more than 99% of them suitable for reuse.

Off to a great start at the London Book Fair! Join us and our friends from Park Communications at booth 7C48. We look forward to sharing ideas and discussing the future of sustainable printing with others in the industry.

Sustainability has been high on the Graphius Group agenda for quite some time. Therefore, we are very pleased to announce that the group has obtained the EcoVadis certificate. This is a big step forward in our ESG strategy and we are excited to continue our mission in improving our positive impact on the environment and people.

Thanks to the recent acquisition of Paperland, a new printing press is currently being installed at Graphius Brussels. The Heidelberg XL106 – 8 with lacquer tower will be operational and in use by mid-February. We are already looking forward to it!

The London Book Fair, one of the most important events in the publishing world, is once again approaching. So we are excited to let you know that we will be there! From March 12 to 14, you can find both Graphius and Park Communications (part of Graphius Group) at booth 7C48. We look forward to sharing our expertise and looking at the possibilities for the future together. See you there!

Paperland in Uccle joins Graphius Group