Express KCS opens second India production facility

Offshore production company Express KCS has opened a second advertising production and creative studio in India to help publishers save costs.

The Delhi-based company, which said that its UK business was "expanding", said its main production facility in Gurgaon is operating at full capacity with more than 400 staff, and it has now opened a new production studio in Pune, the second largest city in the state of Maharashtra and 180km from Mumbai.

The Pune studio will employ an additional 70 account managers and art workers, and will focus on production for printed advertisements and a range of creative pre-media services for newspaper, magazine and corporate clients. It has been fitted with high-speed networks utilizing the StudioOnline job management system as the hub.

The Pune studio will also provide back up support for the main Gurgaon facility.

The company plans to open a third studio later this year.

Express KCS chief executive Robert Berkeley said: "The market’s appetite for outsourcing graphic arts production is bigger than ever. The opening of the new Pune studio with another one in the pipeline for later this year, provides our customers with more capacity and greater resilience."

Express KCS works with UK-based publishers including the National Magazines Company and City AM. A spokesperson for the company said that the production company is also working with British packaging and pre-press companies but could not divulge the names of any because of client confidentiality.

She added: "Business in the UK is expanding as publishers are still looking to costs following a reduction in advertising expenditure and the difficult economic climate. Express KCS can provide the services they need and offer a fast turnaround while still maintaining quality."

The company is also working with publishers to develop digital editions of magazines and newspapers.