The machine, installed two months ago, cost in excess £500,000, and follows a £250,000 investment in a Sakurai spot UV line at Frip’s Redditch facility in October.

Only two months after the latest purchase, the company is now hinting at further similar investment due to take place at its Manchester site soon, but could not yet confirm details.

The Bobst machine was supplied and fully reconditioned by Dutch Graphic Trade in Holland. Frip will now be able to double its existing large format capacity to over 750,000 sheets per week, running six days a week, on a 24 hour basis. The new machine will run alongside a Bobst 126 BMA and a Bobst 102 BMA foilmaster.

Frip group managing director Leslie Gibson said that over the past year it had seen significant new demand for its largest sheet size and the investments would provide it with greater flexibility in meeting the needs of its customers.

"During the past year we have created three new jobs through the introduction of a third foiling shift and with the arrival of this new Bobst we plan for a further five new staff," he said. "The additional staff will enable us to extend our Lamination and Varnishing services in Hinckley into a similar three shift operation.

"In total Frip now operate seven Bobst foilers across the Group giving Frip an unrivalled capacity and ability to respond to high volume immediate delivery requirements of the print, publishing and packaging sectors."

A spokesman for Frip, which has around 75 staff and a turnover in excess £6m, said it had also recently invested in another machine, but was not yet ready to release information of which machine this was.

He said the machine would enable the company to move into a new area of the market. "We’ve invested in this new machine that’s a bit hush hush – it’s just at the trial stages at the moment," he said.