NY firm buys Portland Color
Portland Color owner Andy Graham has sold his large-format digital-printing company to Designtex, a New York City-based firm.
Graham says Designtex, which services the interior-design industry, had been Portland Color's largest customer. "We have functioned as the manufacturing production facility for the surface-imaging products they've been selling," he says. "This represents a natural progression for them to want to control the source of a growing product for their system."
Designtex is a subsidiary of Steelcase Inc., an office supplier, and it plans to expand its surface-imaging products into more markets besides the retail and museum market, which is where Portland Color specialized, Graham explains. Surface-imaging products include floor covering, wall papers, vinyl acrylics and other custom-printed surfaces used in offices, stores and the hospitality industry.
"The reason they chose to buy Portland Color was because of the quality of our work force," Graham says. "This represents an opportunity for Portland Color to grow its work force in the creative economy sector in Portland and expand its market more broadly," in part due to Designtex's larger sales team.
Graham founded Portland Color, originally called Slide Works, in 1988. The company has 25 employees.
The sale was finalized yesterday, and Graham did not disclose the sales price. He reassures his existing clients on Portland Color's website that "this development will not affect how you have been served by Portland Color, or the folks that you have been working with. All of us will still be here at our great facility in Portland, Maine, and I promise you that you will find us more energized and focused than ever."
Graham will work for Designtex as its digital-surfacing imaging innovation officer. He currently serves on the board of SPACE gallery, a venue for alternative arts on Congress Street, and is the president of Creative Portland Corp., a nonprofit charged with developing Portland's creative economy.
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