The firm's order for an Inca Columbia Turbo follows hot on the heels of rival Cestrian, which has also ordered the flatbed ink-jet press. An HP Indigo 3050 is also on order.

The point-of-sale specialist is now set to increase its capacity by a third with the purchase of a 10,000m2 facility and plans to recruit up to 80 new staff by next spring.

The new site, at Silkwood Industrial Estate in Wakefield, replaces a 2,000m2 building on the same estate and will house group management, account management and a warehouse with logistics and fulfilment from September.

Production will be concentrated at the existing 16,000m2 Balne Lane site in central Wakefield, which will have a 300,000 overhaul on top of the investment in new kit.

Bezier Wakefield managing director Mark Shaw said a move to a totally new site had been ruled out because of the cost.

"We couldn't get the savings we'd need to justify it," he said. "It would have cost 10m, if not 12m, plus perhaps 3m to physically move. The Balne Lane site is actually very efficient and very well planned."

The move follows growth at the firm, which has seen its turnover rise from 44m last year to over 50m this year. Shaw said he expects that figure to reach 60m "very shortly".

The company has recruited 30 staff in the past month, bringing the total workforce to 305. Shaw said that he expects to take on a further 30 staff before the end of the year, with 50 more joining in early 2005.

Shaw also revealed that his firm had won a "substantial" new contract for an unnamed retail client.

Story by Josh Brooks