David Savastano, Editor03.24.22
Today, the inkjet printing market is one of the fastest growing segments in the printing and ink industries, but it wasn’t always the case. Even in the 1980s, inkjet was a tiny niche in the world of printing. However, the Needham Group, then called Roger Needham & Sons, saw the potential. It was a natural move considering the company’s versatility.
Established in 1962 by Roger Needham, Roger Needham & Sons Ltd. became the sole distributor for the ‘Speedry Magic Marker’ range, and grew the business.
“From there, the company expanded its offering in the early 1970s into manufacturing rubber stamps, and, after identifying a niche in the market, we began to manufacture fluids and inks - this still continues to this day,” said Aled Ellis, managing director of Needham Group.
“In the 1980s, Roger Needham & Sons had become distributors for an American brand of drop-on-demand (DOD) printers and established a research and development facility in Shropshire to begin developing new inks for this market sector,” Ellis added.
David Needham, Needham Group’s current chairman, joined the company in the early 1990s after a successful career as a jet pilot in the Royal Air Force and, in 2004, the business started trading as The Needham Group, allowing subsidiaries to be established specializing in each of their markets, such as coding and inks.
Now, as the company celebrates its 60th anniversary, Needham Group has major plans.
“Throughout the pandemic, business levels stayed stable and we have just launched our growth plan blueprint for the next five years that will see turnover rise from £10 million to £30 million,” Ellis said.
“The Needham Group has always had a focus on coding and marking solutions from rubber stamps, coding printers to laser marking machines,” he added. “The coding and marking industry are something that we have specialized in since our inception and we see our future focus on this market lying in embracing the technology advances as they arrive.
“We currently have a heavy focus on further penetrating the wide format and digital ink market, as well as textile inks and printing,” Ellis continued. “Currently, our core market is inks for continuous inkjet printers. We have developed a wide range of products which cover all applications and are now sold to over 70 countries around the world.”
Most recently, Needham Group has developed a range of digital inkjet inks for printing directly onto fabrics. These direct-to-garment inks are used to print directly onto t-shirts and other textiles. Its R&D team also developed UV-cured inks that contain no solvents for flatbed UV inkjet printers.
Going forward, Ellis said that Needham Group is focused on digital wide-format inks.
“In recent years, inkjet printers have found more and more uses as the technology of ink formulation has developed,” said Ellis. “Once inkjet printers only printed onto paper, but nowadays they are used to print onto everything from cotton to steel. We already have some established ink products for this market and are continuing to develop our product range as we expect this market to continue to grow for the next 10-20 years.”
“As the company is reaching its 60th birthday this year, we exist to enhance and preserve this legacy,” Ellis said. “We do this by using our expertise in ink technologies to build lifelong partnerships and are proud to be at the forefront of innovations in ink technologies with a dedicated R&D facility in Newquay, Cornwall. All of the inks we commercially manufacture are made at our HQ in Whitchurch, Shropshire.
“At the heart of our business are our people and our core values,” Ellis concluded. “Without our people, we wouldn’t function. They are dedicated, knowledgeable and compassionate. We are a wholly independent supplier with no desire to lock you into any hidden contracts, we just want to supply you with the best quality products.
“The Needham Group is constantly innovating and investing in our each of our company’s research and development facilities,” Ellis added. “Each subsidiary has its own dedicated R+D team to ensure that we always stay ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation. We put a very high focus on innovation and service. The ink industry is evolving constantly, and we rely on product development to ensure our long-term future.
“We are always looking for the next technology that we can embrace in order to help us achieve this. We aim to achieve revenues of £30 million by 2025,” Ellis concluded. “We want to be recognized as a great technology enabler, providing a way for amazing IP to be commercialized for the economic benefit of the UK.”
Needham Group
Waymills Industrial Estate
Whitchurch
Shropshire UK SY13 1TT.
Tel: +44 (0) 1948 662629
www.needham-group.com
Specialties: Coding, marking and inkjet inks
Established in 1962 by Roger Needham, Roger Needham & Sons Ltd. became the sole distributor for the ‘Speedry Magic Marker’ range, and grew the business.
“From there, the company expanded its offering in the early 1970s into manufacturing rubber stamps, and, after identifying a niche in the market, we began to manufacture fluids and inks - this still continues to this day,” said Aled Ellis, managing director of Needham Group.
“In the 1980s, Roger Needham & Sons had become distributors for an American brand of drop-on-demand (DOD) printers and established a research and development facility in Shropshire to begin developing new inks for this market sector,” Ellis added.
David Needham, Needham Group’s current chairman, joined the company in the early 1990s after a successful career as a jet pilot in the Royal Air Force and, in 2004, the business started trading as The Needham Group, allowing subsidiaries to be established specializing in each of their markets, such as coding and inks.
Now, as the company celebrates its 60th anniversary, Needham Group has major plans.
“Throughout the pandemic, business levels stayed stable and we have just launched our growth plan blueprint for the next five years that will see turnover rise from £10 million to £30 million,” Ellis said.
“The Needham Group has always had a focus on coding and marking solutions from rubber stamps, coding printers to laser marking machines,” he added. “The coding and marking industry are something that we have specialized in since our inception and we see our future focus on this market lying in embracing the technology advances as they arrive.
“We currently have a heavy focus on further penetrating the wide format and digital ink market, as well as textile inks and printing,” Ellis continued. “Currently, our core market is inks for continuous inkjet printers. We have developed a wide range of products which cover all applications and are now sold to over 70 countries around the world.”
Most recently, Needham Group has developed a range of digital inkjet inks for printing directly onto fabrics. These direct-to-garment inks are used to print directly onto t-shirts and other textiles. Its R&D team also developed UV-cured inks that contain no solvents for flatbed UV inkjet printers.
Going forward, Ellis said that Needham Group is focused on digital wide-format inks.
“In recent years, inkjet printers have found more and more uses as the technology of ink formulation has developed,” said Ellis. “Once inkjet printers only printed onto paper, but nowadays they are used to print onto everything from cotton to steel. We already have some established ink products for this market and are continuing to develop our product range as we expect this market to continue to grow for the next 10-20 years.”
“As the company is reaching its 60th birthday this year, we exist to enhance and preserve this legacy,” Ellis said. “We do this by using our expertise in ink technologies to build lifelong partnerships and are proud to be at the forefront of innovations in ink technologies with a dedicated R&D facility in Newquay, Cornwall. All of the inks we commercially manufacture are made at our HQ in Whitchurch, Shropshire.
“At the heart of our business are our people and our core values,” Ellis concluded. “Without our people, we wouldn’t function. They are dedicated, knowledgeable and compassionate. We are a wholly independent supplier with no desire to lock you into any hidden contracts, we just want to supply you with the best quality products.
“The Needham Group is constantly innovating and investing in our each of our company’s research and development facilities,” Ellis added. “Each subsidiary has its own dedicated R+D team to ensure that we always stay ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation. We put a very high focus on innovation and service. The ink industry is evolving constantly, and we rely on product development to ensure our long-term future.
“We are always looking for the next technology that we can embrace in order to help us achieve this. We aim to achieve revenues of £30 million by 2025,” Ellis concluded. “We want to be recognized as a great technology enabler, providing a way for amazing IP to be commercialized for the economic benefit of the UK.”
Needham Group
Waymills Industrial Estate
Whitchurch
Shropshire UK SY13 1TT.
Tel: +44 (0) 1948 662629
www.needham-group.com
Specialties: Coding, marking and inkjet inks
