The contract to print the displays, which was secured in early December through E Marker, is for 12,000 units spread over a 12- to 18-month period, being shipped mainly to Belgium, France, Denmark and Germany. E Marker and HD Signology are both part of the Linemark Group.

The first small batch of 360 units was shipped to Denmark in December, followed by a further 1,000 at the end of January, and 600 to Belgium so far this month. The units are for E Marker’s GroGreen products and Belgium-based fertiliser firm Fertira’s Osmo range.  

The display units, some of which are sized 800x600x1,200mm and some of which are sized 1x1.2x1.2m, are being printed on 3.2m long flute cardboard on HD Signology’s Jeti 2030 UV flatbed. They are then cut, creased and perforated, using its CNC Zünd flatbed cutter, which has extra modules for creasing and perforation, before being glued together using an industrial hotmelt glue gun.

“This opens doors for us in terms of export contracts,” said HD Signology general manager Tony Bennett.

“There’s already talk from E Marker of putting us forward to some other partners throughout Europe, so it’s the doors it opens in showing we can produce large-quantity orders in a short time, meet deadlines, and pass on a competitive cost to these people.”

HD Signology, which is one of four companies in the Linemark Group, mainly produces signage and graphics work for the sports sector. It has 16 staff working in a factory in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, and 12 more in installation teams around the country. It is forecasting sales of between £1.2m and £1.5m at the end of this year, which would be a substantial increase on last year’s £850,000.

Bennett said that it is considering investing in the near future in a new 3.2m roll-to-roll, another flatbed and another cutter.

“HD Signology is experiencing a period of growth at the minute, getting our name out there as not just someone who supplies sports signage but the whole package really,” he added.