EVOLVE Group is hastening the pace of its growth after investing £1m in three printing machines.

The Haydock-based signage company expects to increase its turnover by up to 15% – £1.1m – after securing funding from Yorkshire Bank.

Evolve specialises in large-format digital print, bespoke signage manufacture and installation, and design services. Its clients include The Co-operative Group, Matalan and Makro.

One of the new machines allows the company to print onto fabric 3.2m wide to create highly-visible signage displays, while another can print digitally onto rigid materials such as wood, glass and aluminium. The machines use environmentally-friendly UV ink and water-based inks, rather than solvent-based inks.

Paul Davidson, managing director of Evolve Group, is confident the investment will bring a growth in sales this year.

He said: “We had a turnover of £7.5m this year and this new printing equipment will allow us to grow that figure by 10-15% over the next fiscal year and significantly beyond that.

“We have had the machines in place for several months, and the increased capability has already allowed us to open up new markets and increase sales.”

Simon King, a partner at Yorkshire Bank’s financial solutions centre, in Manchester, which provided the funding, is pleased to be backing the company. He said: “We continue to invest, as we always have done, in successful trading businesses, and Evolve Group continues to be a major player in its sector.

“The company has continually diversified to stay ahead of the competition and continues to perform strongly.”

Karen Blinkhorn, financial director of Evolve Group, said: “We have a long-standing relationship with Yorkshire Bank and we are incredibly thankful to it for helping to fund this purchase of new technology.”

Evolve was established as Frodsham Sign and Display in St Helens in 1986, by Glynn Frodsham, who is now chairman of the company.

Initially a small sign and display operation, the company has grown into a multi-million pound turnover business and the group consists of three divisions.

Frodsham Signs supplies bespoke signage and graphics to a portfolio of blue-chip clients.

Jazz Graphics, established in 2000, provides large-format digital print to the sign company, while Evolve Creative Communication Consultants provides creative design for brochures and corporate literature, brand identity and point-of-sale products together with exhibition graphics and complete stand design and supply.