Dugdale rocks Brighton with vinyl colour sound
Leading UK independent PVC compounder Dugdale Ltd, recently enjoyed a successful sponsorship of the Vinyl World Congress, Brighton; showcasing a new range of colour compounds for the resurgent vinyl record industry; contributing to the sectoral debate from the podium and exhibiting and playing the new products in the break out sessions.
Dugdale Business Development Manager, Andy Tombs was part of a the first days panel discussion on the topic of Vinyl Support and the Production Process. ‘The range of interest, feedback and enquiries at Vinyl World Congress has fully vindicated our investment and support for this event. There is no doubt at all that the vinyl sector is booming. At Dugdale we are finding a great appetite among our customers for quality materials that guarantee hassle-free production.’
Dugdale has been supplying the industry for over 40 years and its new range of colours provide a quantum leap – not just in aesthetics but in sound reproduction. Tombs says ‘we have been able to fully demonstrate that sound quality no longer needs to be compromised when producing colour vinyl records.’
Dugdale Technical Director, Dr Jeff Ryan, led the development of these compounds and was in attendance throughout the congress. ‘We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time here this week,’ he said, ‘fielding quality enquiries from a growing and international customer base. In the short term we shall be extremely busy in following through the conversations held here this week.’
Global Vinyl growth is being fuelled by all kinds of customers, and not just the 50 + baby boomer generation. Easy access to digital music is dramatically eroding the CD market and vinyl is once more exploiting the consumer need for a tangible experience with superior sound quality. Ten years ago UK vinyl sales amounted to some £2.7million. Vinyl today, however, accounts for nearly 20% of all “physical” music sold with sales of around £90million.
Most major cities now boast record stores with internet access, coffee bars and meeting places that primarily cater to a new generation of buyers – aged 16-30 – who are relishing the vinyl appeal and who are able to also enjoy digital versions of the same music.
Dugdale is therefore optimistic for future sales of its vinyl colour compounds. Current pressings have been manufactured by Hayes-based The Vinyl Factory and samples of these new LPs were in high demand at the Congress.
Seven primary colours were launched and other colours, tints and special effects will be available to the sector in the future.’
Dugdale is the UK’s leading and independent PVC compounder and the company’s investments in vinyl R&D and production and capital invest over the past four years have been integral to the business continuing to lead the sector for customer service and product performance.
The new Dugdale laboratory facilities are also enhancing the company’s capabilities in mixing, compounding, raw materials evaluation and in accelerating the time-to-market for customer needs.
The Vinyl World Congress is the leading international B2B summit dedicated to the manufacturing of the Vinyl Record Industry and will also be held in Brighton, UK in May of 2019. The Vinyl World Congress attracts technical leaders and industry executives from around the world. Attendees include major and indie record labels, investors, Vinyl Manufacturers, Vinyl manufacturing machine suppliers, Turntable manufacturers, maintenance services, PVC suppliers, packaging and distribution services, resellers, suppliers and trade missions such as UKTI.
