Dublin Vinyl, a company that has so far raised €550,000 in funding for a new record-pressing plant in the capital, will begin full production in the middle of January.

The company is opening for business shortly with its first pressing set to be The Joshua Tree – New Roots, a charity album of covers of U2 songs from artists such as Kodaline, Imelda May and the Strypes.

The brainchild of Hugh Scully, a PR and marketing professional who runs the Coppa Cafe in the RHA Gallery and established the Interlude festival at the venue, Dublin Vinyl has set up a record-pressing facility in a warehouse in Glasnevin and sourced two WarmTone machines from Toronto.

Dublin Vinyl raised initial funds for the development of the facility and to purchase the pressing machines through private investment and a grant from the Local Enterprise Office.

Further expansion is being funded through the EIIS tax relief investment scheme, with the company looking to secure an additional €450,000 to bring the total raised to about €1 million.

Bottleneck

Dublin Vinyl begins full production with a 100,000 monthly record-pressing capacity from mid-January. Mr Scully said a six-month bottleneck in global vinyl-pressing lead times currently exists.

His company aims to reduce the lead times and to keep full control over a high-quality product by becoming one of the few pressing plants in the world to bring all elements of manufacturing process in-house.

“Sales of vinyl are expected to be their highest in 30 years by the end of 2017 and are showing no signs of slowing as labels and artists at every level of success press records appealing to all ages and musical tastes,” Mr Scully said.

“We are excited about the growth potential for the business and have secured business domestically and from a range of international markets including the UK, Germany, Holland, Canada and as far away as Australia and South America. ”