Print specialist Catapult has launched, and it's looking to disrupt the print and packaging industry. Catapult is bringing its under-one-roof solution to the market that combines a seamless end-to-end service, with enhanced production capabilities.

With a 25-year heritage in design and print. the Catapult team is looking to set new standards around quality, lead times, price, service and innovation.Specializing in three specific areas: self-adhesive, narrow web film and linerless labeling, Catapult has been launched with the customer at the forefront.

From his early career as a professional footballer to his recent successes as a partner in a $37 million international packaging design agency, founder and CEO Mark Cook has always been goal- oriented, focused creative. Working 16-hour days and seven-day weeks to progress rapidly through the ranks with his label printing employer in the UK, Cook learned about the industry from the print floor up. From initially packing boxes to mastering a wide range of machinery, Cook moved into sales. His hard work paid off, enabling him to secure a director and shareholder role at Paragon Print and Packaging, which he helped grow from a $2.5 million to a $240 million turnover business.

Cook was also instrumental in the rapid growth of Equator, a packaging design agency that spans the US, UK and European markets, increasing sales from $5m to $35m in just four years. As group sales director and a partner in the business, he was instrumental in the company’s global expansion, ensuring Equator’s business model and proven processes were applied consistently across all sites and bringing in major food and retail brand customers in the US and the UK, including Sam’s Club, Save- Mart, SEG and Kraft.

After helping Equator toward a successful acquisition deal that saw the company become part of the £1.5 billion SGK global marketing group in 2017, Cook decided it was time to invest in his next challenge. The result is Catapult, a creatively-inspired printing business that is designed to redefine a new print sector model for the US.

“We have a vision to create a unique,customer-focused business that will force change across the US print industry. Our team is aligned with this vision and will go out of their way to understand and deliver on our clients’ needs," says Cook. "We understand the pace of the FMCG market, as well as its specific demands. It’s called ‘fast-moving’ for a reason, and so as a business, our service has to be equally agile and responsive to match the requirements of our customers.”

Leading edge technology is at the heart of Catapult's offer. The business has invested in a host of technologies, including Esko’s XPS Crystal CDI, Hamillroad Software’s Bellissima Digitally Modulated Screening (DMS), as well as the most advanced photopolymer plate technology from MacDermid.

Two of the latest FA Nilpeter presses, as well as patented GTT anilox from Apex, are also housed in the 56,000 square foot Florida site. The combination of these state-of-the-art technologies will ensure a transformative solution.

“Our commitment to innovation runs throughout our entire product offering, something that sets us apart from the competition,” Cook continues. “Our family of technologies has been invested in with the customer in mind to drive efficiencies and enable us to deliver at higher speed and lower cost than other vendors without ever compromising on quality.

"Catapult can offer retailers, brands and manufacturers a print solution that allows them to best showcase their own-label products on the shelf. It’s a vision that’s anchored in our experience of the US and UK design and print industries and is focused on leveraging that understanding to answer our clients’ needs with a creative printing business unlike anything the US market has seen before," he concludes.