Thamesdown SDC, the UK’s Number 2 independent CD/DVD replicator, ceased trading and went into administration last week.

The demise of Thamesdown came as a surprise as the company had been expanding capacity culminating with its recent move to new 135,000 sqft facilities in Swindon. It was currently engaged in a rebranding exercise, having just opened offices in London.

2005 had been a “hectic year” according to the company. Last January, Thamesdown acquired SDC GB Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Scandinavian replicator SDC DanDisc, renaming itself Thamesdown SDC.

In May, new DVD replication lines were added to those first installed in 2003 offering “the most modern and efficient systems in Europe” and raising production capacity to 70,000 discs per day.

In November, the company added a new CD pressing line, offering a daily capacity of 150,000 discs.

Thamesdown remained the last significant VHS duplicator in the UK, once Technicolor pulled the plug on its VHS plant earlier this year. In December 2004, Thamesdown had acquired Future Video Services, the Wimbledon-based VHS and DVD manufacturer. The company boasted 4,000 triple deck slave machines capable of duplicating 40,000 tapes per day.

Thamesdown SDC’s assets were sold last week to ODS Business Services Ltd, a part of Germany’s Optical Disc Service (ODS) GmbH, Europe’s largest optical disc manufacturer and a leader in covermounts, where it is said to have a 70% market share of this sector in the UK. Some 500 VHS duplicating machines from Thamesdown FVS have yet to find buyers.

Story filed 15.03.06