The print and communications firm has spent more than £750,000 on enhancements to its equipment lineup in order to increase speed, efficiency and volume.
Investing £525,000 in its Huddersfield premises, Adare has installed a Bell & Howell Criterion Apex sorting machine which will allow for higher volumes and extra capacity, increasing the run rate by more than double from 13,000 per hour to 30,000 per hour. The site’s Jetstar system for mail sortation has also been upgraded.
One of Adare’s two machines running the Jetstar system is also set to be transferred to the firm’s Nottingham premises, which will allow for dual-site capability on mail sortation.
At the Redditch site, the £75m-turnover company spent a further £232,000 on two machines.
A Hunkeler folding machine will produce tickets for Adare’s high-profile clients, in order to reduce blockages and increase speed by 30% in operations.
Meanwhile, a GEW Rhino UV curing system replaces an older three-lamp system with four lamps, increasing running speed from 90m/min to 150m/min on average.
All of the new machines were installed in November.
“This investment will allow for further sales growth and capability across our sites,” said chief operating officer Barry Crich. “We are always looking for new business and, by locking these changes in, we are further able to pursue that with greater speed.
“It was simply a coincidence that these jobs were completed around the same time in November, but a happy one because that is the end of our financial year – which means we can move into the new year in a very good position.
“Now we have invested heavily in physical kit, we will look to enhance our software and system development offerings over 2018.”
Adare SEC’s ticket production serves clients at Premier League football clubs and in the entertainment industry. Its 492 staff work across four sites in Huddersfield, Redditch, Nottingham and Guildford.
