At the official launch at its Lancashire headquarters, Wave Media welcomed more than 100 guests for live production demonstrations, presentations and an introduction to its growing UK operation.
Wave Media Communications UK officially opened the doors of its Burscough headquarters on Tuesday 22 September, welcoming customers, suppliers, partners and neighbouring businesses to mark the launch of its UK operation.
More than 100 guests attended across two sessions, with visitors invited onto the production floor to see Wave Media’s print, cutting and finishing capabilities in action, along with a never-ending food buffet, bar and games which kept everyone entertained. Members of both the UK and Ireland teams were on hand throughout the day to demonstrate the technology, discuss applications and introduce the wider capabilities of the business in their relaxed “Ripples” café / bar area of the facility.
Images from the launch event
The event also welcomed a number of special guests, including former Liverpool FC footballer David Fairclough, Dragons’ Den winner Derry Green and Warrington Town FC manager Paul Carden.
Eddie Tucker, Managing Director of Wave Media Communications UK, said, “We ran a long build-up to the event because we wanted to create a genuine sense of anticipation and curiosity. There were locked boxes, clues and plenty of speculation about what we were going to reveal. A lot of people told us they had worked it out. Some had, and many hadn’t.
“What was originally planned as quite an intimate launch for the team behind Wave Media quickly grew into something much bigger, with customers, suppliers and businesses from across the industry wanting to come and see what we had created.
“For us, the most important part was getting people onto the production floor and seeing the equipment running for themselves. Nobody buys print from a photograph. We wanted people to see the speed, the quality and the possibilities first-hand.”
Live demonstrations on the production floor
Visitors were able to see Wave Media’s extensive production capabilities operating live throughout the event.
The equipment on display included a high-speed 3.2 metre LED roll-to-roll printer, a high-speed hybrid printer, a dedicated 3 x 2 metre flatbed printer, digital cutting technology, finishing equipment from PLASTGrommet and a large CWT application table all tailored for high production, high quality and fast turnaround.
Live applications demonstrated during the event included construction site hoarding and safety signage, retail and point-of-sale graphics, exhibition and display solutions, signage and branded office fit-outs.
Special launch offers were also made available to guests attending the event.
The Burscough facility serves as the UK headquarters of Wave Media Communications and forms part of The Draymoor Media Group, which operates across Ireland, the UK and Asia.
While the launch marked the official opening of the UK operation, the Wave Media team has already been working behind the scenes for several months, building its production capabilities, developing its supplier network and delivering work for customers and white label trade print for surrounding signage firms.
Photography and video from the launch will be released over the coming weeks, giving those unable to attend an opportunity to see more from the day and inside the new facility.
Reflecting on the launch, Eddie added, “It was fantastic to see so many people openly discussing what they were seeing and genuinely being impressed by the speed and quality of the work being produced. Some of our guests had never seen a large-format printer operating before, so watching their reactions and hearing the conversations taking place around the room was incredibly rewarding.
“This is also a huge change personally for me. For many years, people have known me from the engineering and technical side of the industry. I’ve spent a large part of my career advising businesses on how to run printers, improve production and choose the right technology for their facilities. Now I’m putting that experience into practice and, in many ways, practising what I’ve been preaching for years.”
He concludes, “The launch was the exciting part, but it is also just the beginning. The challenge now is to use it as a springboard and combine our technology, experience, skills and services to bring something genuinely different and exciting to the market.”