Large-format print group PFI bought Novum Graphics in mid-January, merging the business with its Speedscreen subsidiary.

The merger, which has kept on all staff at both Novum and Speedscreen, has seen Novum move from Stratford to Speedscreen’s site in Maidstone.

Novum, which was not in financial distress, first started fielding offers for a purchase when its landlord, retail display printer Kesslers - already a PFI subsidiary - announced it would be moving site after its lease ended.

While it received a number of offers, it decided to take up PFI’s offer, which would see it move to Speedscreen’s site. Speedscreen was folded into Novum, and the unified business will now trade as Novum Speedscreen.

Novum managing director Emile Melki and Speedscreen managing director Tim Hill have both kept their titles, managing the joint business together.

Hill told Printweek that the merger had been startlingly easy to carry out.

He said: “They are a nice bunch of guys.

“What surprised me was that the move was absolutely seamless. After moving their equipment and people in, within two days we were using each other's equipment. It’s quite unreal in that regard, it is as if they have been here for years.”

The merger has already proved beneficial to business, Hill added, as Novum has brought its kit with it, including a 3.2m EFI Vutek LED hybrid printer and a 2.5x1.3m Mimaki flatbed, its in-house installer, and a varied client base.

He added that both teams would benefit from knowledge sharing: Speedscreen from Novum’s MIS expertise, and the old Novum team from Speedscreen’s screen-print experience.

He said: “It’s not something they are familiar with yet, but there is a terrific overlap by combining screen and digital.

“You can become much more competitive. For instance, you can print a four-colour process with digital, and back it up with white by screen printing, and it is much more economical and faster compared to using a digital machine’s white channel.”

Novum’s move to Speedscreen’s site just made good sense, Hill added.

“We’ve got a fixed rent and we can fit them in the space - it’s a win-win, really, and a win for PFI as well.”

Speedscreen’s Maidstone site covers 1,500sqm across two floors. Combined, Novum Speedscreen now employs 14 staff, and has set its sights on reaching £1.5m turnover rapidly before looking for £2-3m in the next several years. 

PFI bought Speedscreen in June 2022 after it entered creditors' voluntary liquidation.