Dugdale to sponsor Vinyl Congress, Brighton May 15-16
Leading independent PVC compounder Dugdale Ltd, is back in Brighton again, this year as a Gold Sponsor of a new vinyl music event. On May 15-16, Dugdale will support the Vinyl World Congress; the leading international B2B summit dedicated to the manufacturing of the Vinyl Record Industry.
Vinyl World Congress attracts technical leaders and industry executives from around the world in order to illuminate what is driving demand in today’s Record Vinyl Manufacturing industry. The Brighton event brings together the various industry partners within the Vinyl Record supply chain.
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.
Andy Tombs, Dugdale Business Development Manager, will participate in a materials-based “Q & A Session” at the two-day event. He says ‘I can think of no better market for our innovative PVC compounds than a revived and innovative record industry, such as the one we are witnessing today.
The Dugdale reputation for independence, innovation and for close customer service puts us right at the heart of the best traditions of this particular industry. The Brighton backdrop will be completely in tune with the spirit of the occasion. At Dugdale we are looking forward to a great two days in May - with the prospect of doing much valuable networking and business.’
Other speakers for the event include major record labels such as Sony, Universal and Warner as well as independents such as Cooking Vinyl. Trade associations such as the BPI will present the wider perspectives on the market place, including sales of software and hardware and issues within the retailing sector.
Sales of vinyl in the UK are reported to have reached a 25 year high in 2016 with further advances expected for 2017 once the data is collected. 2016 posted sales of more than 3.2m LP albums – a rise of 53% on the previous year.
Dugdale is no stranger to sponsoring key industry events. The company is a regular Gold Sponsor of the triennial Institute of Materials (IOM3) PVC conference and exhibition. Managing Director David Outen chaired the machinery session at last year’s April conference and noted a revived community spirit among delegates and exhibitors alike.
‘UK manufacturing faces many current challenges,’ he notes. ‘However, the extensive networking and news of technical advances and opportunities at PVC 2017 was, once again, a striking factor throughout the event. We should not forget that there are many positive trends within our sector.
Outen adds that ‘PVC 2017 also served to confirm our unique niche within this industry. We bring a very competitive vinyl-only concentration and focus, making sure that specialisation carries through into bespoke and unrivalled customer service, time and time again. This specialisation and customer service has lately helped us ensure repeat business and an average demand for over 50 new PVC compound requests per month.’
Dugdale’s new applications laboratories and pilot production line is now fully operational. The new facilities will help further ensure that the company’s PVC compounds perform exactly as the customer requires; with Dugdale ready to provide expert assistance in the customer’s place of manufacture; trialling and product approvals.
The new Dugdale laboratory facilities also enhance the company’s capabilities in mixing, compounding, raw materials evaluation and accelerating the time-to-market for customer needs.
