SPEEDY have extended their title sponsorship of the Speedy Services UK Open and have also become an official partner of the Professional Darts Corporation.
Speedy, a leading provider of equipment and support services to construction, manufacturing, industrial, rail and related industries, enjoyed a highly successful sponsorship of last year's UK Open in Bolton.
Their innovative sponsorship included four qualifying events held in Speedy centres around the UK which produced 32 amateur qualifiers for the televised finals in Bolton, where fans were able to not only enjoy the event live at the Reebok Stadium but also online through special Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages.
In addition to extending their sponsorship of the 2012 Speedy Services UK Open, the company have become an official partner of the PDC, which will give them exposure at all televised tournaments.
"We thoroughly enjoyed our partnership with Speedy in 2011 and are delighted to be extending our relationship through both their title sponsorship of the UK Open and their associate sponsorship of our other major televised tournaments," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"They brought a new dimension to the UK Open last year, both with their innovative qualifying tournaments and their online interaction with darts fans around the world, and we look forward to developing that further during 2012."
Tens of thousands of fans worldwide were able to interact with players, including eventual champion James Wade, during the UK Open last June - through the "SpeedyHireDarts" pages on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
"Our 2011 UK Open sponsorship was one of the most memorable and rewarding projects we worked on," said Speedy's group marketing director Steve McIntyre.
"It generated millions of pounds worth of equivalent advertising value and also reached a circulation figure that we barely thought possible.
"Having all of the knowledge and experience of activating the sponsorship in 2011 means we are confident of making our 2012 partnership even more successful and memorable for everyone involved."
Speedy plan to extend the number of venues hosting Speedy Qualifiers for the UK Open this year, with details currently being finalised for the events, which will produce 32 qualifiers for the televised finals.
Four players will win through from Speedy Qualifiers in Dartford, Brighton, Inverness, Leeds, Stoke and Cardiff during April, with a further eight to come from an event at Haydock in the final event on May 4.
The Speedy Qualifiers will be held on the following dates:
Wednesday April 4 - Dartford
Thursday April 5 - Brighton
Wednesday April 11 - Inverness
Thursday April 12 - Leeds
Friday April 13 - Stoke
Thursday April 19 - Cardiff
Friday May 4 - Haydock
Full details of how to enter and format will be announced once finalised.
In addition, 32 players will win through Rileys Qualifiers to compete in Bolton, with knockout events to be staged in Rileys Darts Zones during April and May. Details will be announced shortly for the Rileys Qualifiers.
Tickets are expected to go on sale at the start of April. Full information will be announced in due course once dates are confirmed.