Blue Star Group is acquiring Sydney digital printer Display Bay, the deal marking the IVE-owned printer’s eighth acquisition for the year.
Display Bay will be integrated into the Blue Star Display team in Sydney under the leadership of general manager Guy Watson. Neville Sundel, founder, owner and managing director of Display Bay, will become group account director.
According to Blue Star, Display Bay has a longstanding history servicing the retail display, office signage and event sectors and houses a powerful wide format digital manufacturing capability at its St. Leonards facility. It also specialises in the supply and installation of fabric point-of-sale supported by a strong local and offshore supply chain.
[Related: IVE to acquire Franklin Web and AIW]
Blue Star chief executive Cliff Brigstocke says, “Display Bay is well-known and highly respected in the event and retail display sectors. They are an excellent addition to the group and we are excited about the benefits this acquisition will deliver for our customers.”
“We have seen a growing demand for high-quality printed fabric solutions, and we are delighted to be able to include this innovative approach as part of our overall retail customer offering. We look forward to welcoming the Display Bay team into Blue Star and working together to deliver the broader product range to our customers.”
Sundel says the acquisition is an opportune move for both printers.
“The integration with Blue Star is a perfect fit. We wanted to align with an innovative and reputable company that also had a strong client-focused culture. We are delighted our customers will be able to leverage the broader end-to-end solution offered through this acquisition.”
Sundel says he will be packing up all the machinery and equipment from Display Bay’s St. Leonards location and moving into Blue Star Display in Silverwater.
[Related: Blue Star completes third acquisition this year]
The majority of Display Bay’s staff will transfer across to Blue Star, with Sundel remaining on board as the group account director. Sundel tells ProPrint the acquisition ‘cannot get much better’ for his 14-year old business.
“It’s a good move for Display Bay and for the industry as a whole. We can offer a lot more to our customers, we used to be quite niche but we have much more to give now that we are part of Blue Star,” adds Sundel.
Display Bay was founded in 2002 by Sundel, and specialises in event, retail, outdoor and vehicle printing.
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