The fire broke out late at night on 29 July at a neighbouring factory, spreading into Flexo Trade Print (FTP)’s building. Six fire engines were mobilised around midnight, with around 60 firefighters tackling the blaze throughout the night.
By 7.45am, just one fire crew remained to watch over the site – but FTP’s building had seen severe damage from the fire, water and smoke.
FTP, led by general manager Andy Wilcox, however, has charged back into business. Having cleared the debris, and found that around three-quarters of the building is usable, the team has recovered most of the data from its computers, and set up a temporary IT system.
Even much of the firm’s platemaking and premount department is now functional, with the team able to run at around 75% capacity, according to Wilcox.
He told Printweek that only this morning (13 August) he had been on the phone with customers, letting them know that they would be able to start making plates and stereos in the next day or so.
“We’ve already had a couple of customers who are asking to order plates,” he said.
“Realistically, we’re around 75-80% capacity for plates: it’s going to be a little slow to begin with, because there will naturally be obstacles. But at the moment, we’ve run tests and they’re coming back OK.”
FTP’s digital proofing business is likewise prepped for a quick comeback. While the company has seen much of its kit ruined by the smoke and water, FTP quickly ordered new wide-format kit from SOS.
The Roland DG LG-640 UV printer and VG3-640 solvent printer will arrive on 15 August, alongside a Vivid Easymount laminator.
FTP will move permanently into another part of the building less affected by the fire – but at the moment, is working hard to get things back to normal, all while electricians and builders are deployed to get the building functioning.
“They’re saying it could take up to six months, so we’ve got to work around it as best we can,” Wilcox said.
“It could have been a lot worse, it could have destroyed the building: I suppose we have to look at the bright side.”
Fortunately for FTP, while it has suffered a significant loss of stock and machinery – not the firefighters’ first priority, understandably – the company has had a strong showing of sympathy from the industry.
“There’s a small amount that we managed to save, but basically a lot of it is gone,” Wilcox said.
“But customers, suppliers, and even competitors have been in touch, offering to work with us and work with our customers. Unfortunately, at the start, we literally had to push customers off onto other suppliers, without being able to handle things for them – but now we’re back up, and we’re having people popping up and saying ‘we really want to buy from you, rather than someone else’.
“Realistically, we just need to get on. We’re pretty optimistic, and we’ve come a long way in a pretty short period of time.”
