Dressing spaces, decorating them, beautifying them, making them communicate—this is the raison d’être of Nehia, heir and perpetuator of over 40 years of history. At its origin lies a beautiful entrepreneurial adventure: that of Jean-Marc Hodé, a craftsman specializing in letter painting, who created Enseignes Hodé in Toulouse. Having joined the company for the first time in the early 1980s, Philippe Dubois returned in 1999 to develop digital printing and drive diversification towards industrial marking activities.
He took over the reins in 2012. In line with previous years, he continued development in visual communication while accelerating expansion towards industry. In 2015, with the acquisition of HD34 in Montpellier, Enseignes Hodé extended its activity to the entire Mediterranean basin. Then in 2018, another beautiful family business, PIEM, specialized in the distribution of paint, equipment, and surface treatment tools for the industry, was acquired. Its founder, Jean-Claude Cayla, supplied paint for the Concorde.
Coloring life with a new Tauro H3300 inkjet printer
Philippe Dubois thus has a long history in the printing profession. Machines no longer hold secrets for him, but he still delights in the arrival of an Agfa Tauro H3300 S in his company.
"We were limited in flatbed printing with 2 machines. The arrival of the Tauro allows us to replace one of them and gain in quality and productivity. The goal is to approach national chains and attract new customer segments."
“Nehia offers a comprehensive range of services in the field of visual communication, industrial marking, signage, and interior and exterior decoration in premises covering nearly 2000 m². Our three complementary poles enable us to meet all our clients’ demands, from design to realization, from painting to equipment supply. We offer a unique range of paints, tools, and painting materials covering all the needs of industry professionals and the building sector, but also accessible to individuals.”
“The arrival of the Tauro allows us to be more competitive on prices and reach larger players. We were limited in flatbed printing with two machines. The arrival of the Tauro allowed us to replace one of them and gain in quality and productivity. The goal is to approach national chains and attract new customer segments.”
From a technical point of view, like all Jeti Tauro models, the Jeti Tauro H3300 S operates with Agfa’s Asanti Workflow, which controls and automates the entire printing process, from prepress to finishing, ensures color consistency, and optimizes ink consumption. Asanti’s intelligent production panel (Dashboard) displays ink and substrate consumption, as well as the printing time for each artwork and printer.
"The arrival of the Tauro gives us the necessary room for progress to join the top ten French players. Entering into large-scale distribution will allow us to play in the big leagues."
External growth?
"The market is quite fragmented with many small players. Development could come through integrating smaller and geographically scattered structures," imagines Philippe Dubois, although the company's future will likely also involve 'family succession', anticipates the CEO."
