PartnerTech, one of Europe’s leading contract
manufacturing companies, has been selected by Xaar, the world’s leading independent
supplier of industrial inkjet printheads, inks and peripheral equipment, to manufacture its new
Hydra recirculating ink supply system. The business is being fulfilled out of PartnerTech’s
manufacturing facility at King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England.

David Read, group materials and logistics manager at Xaar’s printhead manufacturing facility,
in Huntingdon, England said: “We decided to outsource production of the Hydra system to
PartnerTech because we needed a strategic but local partner that had a reputation for
producing high quality products and the experience and expertise to provide us with a fully
managed box build service for the new ink supply system.
We also wanted a partner that could manage the vendor base for the Hydra, which is entirely
different to the one we manage for our printhead business, control the inventory and provide
test management and design services.”

Xaar’s innovative technology offers OEM customers and licensees commercial advantage
through product differentiation, productivity, and faster time-to-market. The Hydra system –
which comprises pumps, a reservoir, attenuators, electronics and a power supply box – is
designed to ensure optimal performance and reliability of Xaar’s 1001-based industrial printing
machines. It will run up to four printheads per system and supports a range of fluid types,
viscosities and operating temperatures as well as different printhead orientations.

“We have been impressed by PartnerTech’s approach right from the very outset – they are
easy to do business with and their team has put a lot of effort into developing this relationship,”
added David Read. “They have worked alongside us during the NPI process demonstrating
the flexibility of their purchasing processes, supporting design for manufacture and developing
the operator build instructions. PartnerTech is now building, testing and shipping production
units.”