The machine, which was supplied by Lasercomb’s exclusive UK and Ireland distributor Friedheim International, was installed at Die-Set Formes’ Leeds premises last month.

The business said the new machine will support its expansion into a new market.

“Supplying counters was never something that we thought of doing, as our current customer base never really had the need or interest in this process,” said director Jamie Wrathall.

“However, over the last couple of years we have received more and more enquiries into this type of product.

“We soon realised we were missing out on potential new business from our own customer base and maybe there could be an opportunity to expand our business even further.”

Counters are sheets of plastic that are cut, chamfered and routed to assist in the folding of materials when die-cutting, serving as a replacement for traditional methods such as applying matrix. They speed up makereadies and reduce set-up times on automated die-cutting machines.

While Die-Set Formes had initially seen the Lasercomb machine as a compliment to its existing customer offering, the business realised after viewing it that the device could play a much larger role in its growth strategy.

“When we came to view the Lasercomb machine, we were surprised to learn that as well as producing counters, we could also automate the production of our stripping boards,” said Wrathall.

“This immediately peaked our interests into the purchase of such a machine.”

He added the company has seen a marked improvement in production since installing the Lasercomb device.

“The feedback from customers has been extremely positive and we now feel that we are confident that we will reap the benefits in the years to come.”