German-based Mayer-Kuvert-network bought Eagle Envelopes, which has bases in Walsall and near Edinburgh, and Dublin's Trimfold Envelopes.

Eagle has more than 100 staff and a 20m turnover while Trimfold's 65 employees notch up a turnover of over 8m (12m). Paper maker Smith Anderson Group owned both firms.

"We have more than 30 firms across Europe and make 55m envelopes daily," said Kevin Borgers, head of UK and Ireland for Mayer-Kuvert-network. "But shipping costs are expensive for short-run direct-mail work such as 100,000 envelopes. This is a huge market and we can now have a go in Britain and Ireland."

Tom Wilson, who remains managing director of Eagle Envelopes, called the move a "beneficial business mix" that would improve effectiveness.
His firm keeps its name but Trimfold, headed by managing director Kevin Murray, becomes Trimfold Envelopes. No jobs will be shed from the factories, which run mostly W&D kit, said the new owner.

Mayer-Kuvert-network was formed in 1877 and has a 140m turnover. It has 70 reel-fed and 45 blank-fed machines, mostly W&D, in bases in Norway, Israel and Russia.