Publication printer Wyndeham Group has invested £2.5m in a Muller Martini Corona C18 perfect binder, which will be installed at Southernprint next month.

The machine has been bought to replace two existing binders lost in a fire at the site last year and will handle new contracts, including the valuable IPC Media tender, which is due to begin in July.

Muller Martini will also carry out a complete overhaul of Wyndeham's existing 13 binders and saddlestitchers.

According to Wyndeham Group chief executive Paul Utting, the line will handle work from as little as 5,000 runs up to and above the million-run mark. It will also handle a range of products, including catalogues and added-value products.

Utting said: "This continues our desire to remain a well-invested business. We are continually looking to bring work in and this should support us in that area.

"It is all very well having a new machine, but we need to be able to support it. We will be undertaking a full refurbishment programme with Muller Martini in the bindery. We intend to bring all of the equipment back up to its full capability, to the level of our new machine."

The bindery will handle work from Manroland Lithoman, Rotoman, M4000 and M850 presses.

The Muller Martini C18, which was bought in a deal clinched at Ipex, is capable of binding up to 18,000 A4 publications per hour. It is fitted with two-shot hotmelt binding and twin nipping stations for increased binding strength, as well as 15 stations, plus a cover feeder, with full signature and cover recognition.

It also enables the production of a wide range of value-added products, which can be applied to publications in-line. These include six static nailing positions for inserts and bound-in cards, a CD-ROM and card glue feeder, a six-station loose inserting machine, plus in-line shrinkwrapping and palletisation.