Paid for contentA dream come true – Artmachine moves into new bespoke premises
“IT NEVER ceases to amaze me the direction that our company goes in
terms of services and products that we can offer our customers.”
Artmachine director Jonny Polson sits at the desk in his brand-new office at Lerwick’s Blackhill industrial estate and still can’t really believe what he and his team have achieved over recent months.
“It’s such a relief,” fellow company owner Craig Sim adds. “Everything is working so much better now.”
The company, which has become a household name locally for anything to do with signage, specialist printing and company branding, had long outgrown its previous premises at Garthspool and was urgently looking to expand.
For several years, they have been operating out of two units, one at Garthspool and the other at the Marina Business Park at Gremista. It was high time to find new premises.
Earlier this year they finally were able to invest and take ownership of unit two after the large warehouse, formerly occupied by GB Building Centre, was taken over by GA Leask Builders and split into four separate units.
Thanks to a HIE’s ‘green grant’ worth £42,425, Artmachine was able to significantly improve the unit’s energy efficiency, during the fit out and refurbishment works in the aim to generally reduce its carbon footprint.
The move from Garthspool to Blackhill has already led to the creation of one new full-time job in the newly refurbished premises, which are generously laid out, with designated studio space, workshop, offices, laser room and garage/CNC [computer numerical control] workshop whilst making as much use of natural light as possible.
“Our new premises is almost three times the size of our previous space, which now is incredible to think how we managed to operate out of such a cramped space previously,” Jonny explains.
“Within the first month of operating from the new premises our production and output had increased by almost 30 per cent – which is definitely a reassuring sign, pardon the pun.”
Artmachine began back in 1992 when JJ Jamieson started Artmachine with Jo Redman with a sister company making vinyl signage also operating in Orkney.
Jonny Polson started an apprenticeship at Artmachine straight after school in 2006, and upon completing this together with Susan Anderson bought JJ out in 2012. Craig meanwhile began working at Artmachine in 2014 and replaced Susan as a director two years later.
The company now employs seven people, including Craig and Jonny, and offer a wide variety of services from design work and large format printing, illuminated signage, to laser engraving, CNC signage, vehicle wrapping and anything imaginable in between.
And as the ever-buoyant Shetland economy continues to give, many local businesses such as Artmachine are growing, investing and innovating.
“From where it all began to what we are doing now, it just continues to grow,” Jonny says. “Come the next five or ten years, it will be amazing to see what avenue the industry takes us down.
“By reinvesting in new equipment and machinery, this now allows us to produce a lot of printing, signage and engraving products in-house, keeping the production of our products based in Shetland, something we are very keen to maintain.”
He adds: “Even in the time that I have been in the large format printing industry, we have been through four large format printers.
“We have seen technology advance so much in terms of specialist inks a wider range of printable media – we are always keen to introduce new products and services to customers as it’s a very fast-moving industry.
“Customers are looking at new innovative ways of advertising their businesses and we are always thinking outside the box to try offer that special something to diversify the next project.”
But there are also some very Shetland specific, and somewhat unexpected, niches that rely heavily on Artmachine’s specialist expertise.
Craig reveals how the annual Up Helly Aa celebrations can regularly throw an astonishing diversity of jobs and challenges at the Artmachine team.
This can range from a simple galley prop, the machining of dagger handles, Viking symbols on a wooden shield to substantial jobs such as cutting and engraving leather breast plates for entire jarl squad’s suits.
“It all feels great and has been overwhelming,” Jonny sums up the last few months, “because it essentially has been a dream for the last two years.”
Artmachine is now at Unit2, Blackhill Mills, Lerwick ZE1 0DG
Telephone: 01595 696646
https://www.artmachineshetland.com
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