Epson, a printing industry major, expects further growth for its digital printing business in the Middle East following its acquisition of Italy’s Fratelli Robustelli, a leader in the textile printing industry.

The entry of Robustelli into the Epson Group will allow it to leverage Epson’s manufacturing capability to bring the advantages of its digital inkjet textile printers to more customers around the world, a statement said.

The move will assist Epson in using Robustelli’s expertise to accelerate the development of digital inkjet textile printers that further enhance the companies’ abilities to meet customer needs with a wider line-up of products. As part of the enhanced acceleration, the two companies plan to focus on joint R&D efforts to achieve this goal, according to the statement.

Khalil El-Dalu, general manager, Epson Middle East, said: “Digital printing technology will define the future of textile printing. With a strong appetite for fashion and retail, this region is a key market for Epson and now with acquisition of Robustelli, we will be able to provide high quality digital printing products.”

The digital textile printing market worldwide is expected to grow at an annual rate of approximately 25 per cent. In addition to using its manufacturing network to meet this growing demand, Epson will deploy its worldwide sales and service network to provide digital inkjet textile printers to more countries and regions around the world.

Sunao Murata, COO of Epson’s Professional Printing Operations Division, who is scheduled to be appointed as president of Robustelli, said: “This is a very exciting development for the Epson Group. As the market for high-quality digital textile printing expands, I believe that formalizing our partnership with Robustelli in this way puts us in a great place to meet the needs of the growing numbers of customers who are seeking to leverage the advantages of advanced digital solutions that will help drive their businesses forward. We will work closely with our colleagues at Robustelli to take Monna Lisa to the next level and remain leaders in the field.”

“We are happy and proud to become members of the Epson Group,” said Valerio Robustelli, one of the proprietors of F.lli Robustelli. “Our cooperation with Epson led to the development of Monna Lisa, an industrial digital textile printer that is today a market benchmark for high-quality textile printing. The combination of our respective skills is the natural conclusion of a process of innovation to satisfy customers in Italy and the rest of the world.”

Located in Como, the heart of the Italian and European high-quality printing textile industry, Robustelli specializes in the development, manufacture, and sale of digital inkjet textile printers. – TradeArabia News Service