Inkcups Now Corp. started the year in a new 26,000-square-foot facility designed for efficiency that allows it to consolidate its headquarters, production and warehouse in one place.
“This gives us a launching board to develop new products, and focus on technical and customer services,” said President Ben Adner, in a phone interview.
The Danvers, Mass., company supplies the pad printing, garment tag printing and specialty inkjet printing industry.
The new building more than doubles capacity. The company had been in Danvers about a mile away, occupying space in three different buildings.
He said that the project cost about $3 million, including $1 million for renovations. It now has two floors of office space, with all production on one floor.
“A huge thing is that our inks were in another building, but now we have space that was approved by the fire department for our inks and also our thinners,” he said.
By locating not far from its former building, Adner said, the firm was able to retain its 50 employees and is planning to add 10 more to its staff.
Adner started the company 11 years ago. He had a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Vermont and a master's of business administration from Babson College. He also worked in a similar business for 10 years.
He said he had a two-year non-compete clause from his former employer, but went on to develop a universal ink cup for pad printers and ran the business out of his home for the first few years.
When Adner started developing machinery, Inkcups grew to a point where it needed its own space in an industrial site. Over the last 10 years, it grew from 1,500 square feet to about 15,000 square feet.
The company's newest product is the Xjet conveying inkjet machine, which has several patents pending, he said. It is designed for industrial use.
The firm has 10 direct sales, support and warehousing sites in North and Central America.