Earlier this year, brand marketing specialist Wild Thang invested £2m to transform its Merseyside headquarters and now is investing in new technology. Tony McDonough reports
Brand marketing specialist Wild Thang is investing £120,000 in new technology that will allow it to print complex designs on fabrics to meet the fast-changing demands of its clients.
Earlier this year, Bootle-based Wild Thang overcame the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to complete a £2m transformation of its headquarters, close to Liverpool’s northern docklands.
Launched with a £1,500 Princes Trust grant by managing director Andrew Dwerryhouse 20 years ago, the business manufactures and supplies a full range of branded marketing materials. Its blue-chip clients have included Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Wembley Stadium and Liverpool and Everton football clubs.
Now it has invested to enhance its DTG (direct to garment) printing machinery that will transform how it can service its clients requirements. DTG is the process of using a modified industrial inkjet printer to apply digital designs directly to a garment.
Its new machinery can now print any number of colours to an incredibly high resolution meaning there are no longer any boundaries to create incredibly complex designs on short runs. Wild Thang’s team has undergone three days of training to operate the new equipment.
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Andrew said: “Even in these incredibly challenging COVID times it is important to look ahead and continue to make important investments like this that will help us deliver our long-term aspirational growth plans.
“Even in times of economic uncertainty it’s incredibly important to have that dynamic and continuous improvement mindset because we understand if you are standing still and not adapting then the writing may already be on the wall for any company.
“We decided as a team in order to survive and thrive as a company that we needed to continue to invest for the future. As a company we have a one solution mindset so this really complements the DTG equipment we already have in place but increases our capacity to a much more industrial level.
“We see markets changing and have demand for people to create partnerships where they don’t want to outlay big amounts in either stock or setups so this really opens another set of doors to give our clients yet another possible solution to their branding requirements.”
Andrew and his team decided to make the first job off the new DTG equipment a special one. They are supporting their friends over at MaxMade who will be taking part in a social distance Santa Dash in memory of Emily Jane Gore, who sadly passed away earlier in the year. Their team raised an incredible £5,329 with all proceeds being donated to Willowbrook Hospice.
They have also produced a video montage to celebrate this significant DTG investment and also to help promote the great fundraising initiative MaxMade are supporting. Andrew added: “After an incredibly difficult year with the impact of COVID we are now focused on Wild Thang and looking to the future.
“Our great ambition is undiminished and combined with the upcoming completion of our new development we believe the sky really is the limit for dynamic sales growth in 2021.”