The £17.5m-turnover business installed its third XL 106, a 10-colour, in August and the fourth press, an eight-colour, will be installed in late January.
All four will be configured with CutStar sheeters and Inpress Control and Autoplate XL.
When the firm ordered the first two XL 106s at Drupa 2012 the original plan was to install a new press every other year to 2018. However, the firm will now have installed four new XL 106 long perfectors in a little over two years.
“It’s still a difficult market and we’re probably unique in terms of installing four presses in two and a half years, but our success has enabled us to do it,” said managing director Kirk Galloway.
He admitted that some might think him “barmy” for investing so heavily in a commodity-driven market, but he said that tight financial control through the recession had left the business perfectly poised to capitalise on the green shoots in the market.
“It can give you sleepless nights if you don’t plan it right, but planning has always been our strength and we’ve never been complacent about improving our business, because if you don’t improve you don’t grow.”
Galloway said that the business was targeting growth through a combination of new business wins, including some significant recent wins, but also organic growth from its existing client base.
Although Galloway said he had no intention of simply chasing turnover for turnover’s sake.
“The important thing is that we can still comfortably survive putting a fourth press in the way we are, without panicking about keeping it filled. If we only grow turnover a few percent or it stays where it is, not a problem, but we’re definitely starting to see green shoots in our market.”
To augment the latest press spends the Buxton, Derbyshire-based business has also ordered a five-station Muller Martini Primera stitcher with cover-feeder, slated for delivery in January, and two fully automatic MBO folders from Friedheim, set to go in during November and December.
It is also adding an additional Fuji platesetter in March.
All of the new kit is additional rather than replacement.
“It’s okay putting a press in and producing all these extra sheets, but if they go nowhere it’s a wasted investment, so we needed to ensure the infrastructure was right,” said Galloway.
Buxton has already increased its headcount across the business this year by around 15 staff, with Galloway adding that he expects to grow that by another 10 in the coming months.
However, Galloway said that while he was monitoring developments in file transfer, with a view to streamlining the process, and digital technologies, further major capex was unlikely for a while.
“The board are going to tie my hands tightly behind my back for a while to make sure they go nowhere near the till,” he said.
