A BH82 was installed this week and a BH66 model is due for delivery next month. Both machines will go directly into 24-hour production. The cost of the investment was £250,000.

“18 months ago we invested in a new Muller Martini binder but to keep that operating to capacity we needed more up-to-date folding capacity,” said managing director Andy Bird.

“These are direct replacements for older Stahlfolders, a B1 KH 82 and a B2 KI 55, and were [partly] funded by a regional growth fund grant.

“We didn't go for full automation because being a trade finisher we have little control on what comes in.

“Handling different stocks, formats and folds all the time would mean our operators would be constantly overriding the system. The manual versions with latest technology are good for us.

“They are more automated than the machines we had and will give us a significant lift in productivity and efficiency as well as a consistently good fold.”

Folio Print Finishing, based in Bristol, has 45 staff and turns over £2.6m. Kit includes the Muller Martini Bravo stitcher, two polar guillotines, a Heidelberg 105 Varimatrix and Heidelberg SBD cylinder, die-making kit and hand platens.

The most recent investment would give customers better turnround and quality, said Bird. With fewer trade finishers in the industry, Folio was taking in work nationwide, he added.

It was also winning business because of its breadth of services, from perfect binding, PUR, stitching and one-piece mailers to wire binding, remoist gluing, miniature work and punching, he said.

“A lot of companies are self sufficient and have their own equipment, but if they get get extra volumes of work we can step in and take on the finishing so they can take on the work.

“One call and you can be flat out and needing additional staff. We are lucky that we have a flexible, reliable and knowledgeable team.”