Programme of events strong on charity challenges

This year marks 25 years at the forefront of global inkjet technology for Xaar, the world-leader in industrial inkjet printheads. Xaar began life in 1990 as four people in a small office on Cambridge Science Park. Their goal was to develop and commercialise the digital inkjet print technology arising out of work done by Cambridge Consultants. Today the company employs over 600 people worldwide, based at three buildings on the Science Park, at state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Huntingdon and Järfälla, Sweden, and in offices in Hong Kong, India and the US. Over the last 25 years Xaar has proved itself to be an inkjet innovator many times. The company’s Xaar 128 printhead transformed the wide-format printing industry 20 years ago; even today Xaar technology still drives approximately 75% of the wide-format printers in use. In 2007, Xaar launched its revolutionary Xaar 1001 that has since transformed the ceramic tile decoration industry, bringing many benefits to tile manufacturers all over the world, including reduced costs and a vastly expanded range of creative tile design effects. More recently, Xaar expanded its focus into other significant marketing sectors, including direct-to-shape packaging printing and the hi-tech world of Additive Manufacturing, 3D printing and nanoimprint lithography, a process used to manufacture silicon wafers. To mark its 25th anniversary Xaar is organising a programme of events during the summer and autumn. In line with the company’s record of supporting local and national charities, it includes a number of company-wide charity challenges, starting with a 26-strong Xaar team undertaking a 60-mile London to Cambridge Bike Ride to raise over £2,000 for Breast Cancer Now, Other challenges planned are the Chariots of Fire relay race in September (for East Anglia Children’s Hospice) and October’s the Byte Night sleep-out in aid of Action for Children. Richard Barham, Xaar’s Chief Customer Officer, believes building the celebrations around charity events says a lot about Xaar as a company. “We’re immensely proud of what we’ve achieved over the last 25 years, but we know we couldn’t have done it without the advantages that come with being in Cambridge — not only our people but also the superb high-technology support infrastructure that’s in place. By linking our anniversary celebration with support for these charities we are giving something back while also showing that we remain an energetic company with a strong drive to succeed.”

NEW US DIRECTOR OF SALES TO SPEARHEAD XAAR’S DRIVE INTO NORTH & LATIN AMERICAN MARKETS

In a significant strengthening of its presence in the North American and Latin American markets, Xaar, the world’s leading inkjet technology specialist, has appointed Don Whaley as Director of Sales, Xaar Americas. In addition, the company has also opened a new sales and support office in Texas. “This is a great time to join Xaar,” says Don Whaley. “There are big opportunities to extend the penetration of the company’s market-leading inkjet technologies in the graphics, packaging and industrial imaging markets throughout the region. It’s my role to realise the potential, and I’m hugely excited at the prospect. The resources of the new Texas office, just a few minutes from the airport, are a big advantage and we expect the training and demonstration facilities to be busy with customers and prospects.” “We’re delighted to secure Don Whaley to spearhead our drive into the American markets,” says Richard Barham, Xaar’s Chief Customer Officer. “He has a superb track record of driving growth with global technology companies, and his packaging and graphics industry knowledge, experience and enthusiasm will be a huge asset for us in these important markets.”