US digital print firm Mimeo has taken its first steps in a bid to expand into Europe with the establishment of a UK web­site and plans to open a Eu­­ropean manufacturing centre.

    The web-based company has launched mimeo.co.uk, offering UK pricing and paper formats. It is also in the process of recruiting a 20-strong sales force to target the UK market.

    Mimeo chief executive Adam Slutsky said: "5% of our business is outside of the US without us even marketing it as an option."

    Initially, the firm will print work for the UK at its New Jersey factory on the east coast of the US and then ship it into the UK.

    However, it plans to have a European manufacturing centre in operation by the end of 2010. By then, it also plans to have rolled out the service to Germany and France."We estimate that the western European market is 70% of the size of the US," said Slutsky.

    The firm targets Forbes Global 2000 companies offering print for sales, marketing, human resources and training requirements. 

    Last year, it produced 450m pages for its 8,000-strong customer base.

    As a privately held US-based company the firm isn't obliged to state its current revenues, but Slutsky said it was "near to $100m". Since launch, it has shown an average growth of 36% year-on-year.

Slutsky attributed the success of the firm to its combination of digital print and the internet.

    "One of the reasons for such rapid growth - even in 2008 when other firms were down 10-20%, we grew in double digits - is the rise in the use of on-demand print, especially by those that have digital libraries," he said.

    Investors in Mimeo include Goldman Sachs and HP.

[时间：2009-07-17  作者：Barney Cox  来源：互联网|#]