The Rochdale-based firm bought a five-colour Speedmaster SM 52 B3 press a few years ago and has found it to be a workhorse that produces very good quality print, according to managing director Ronnie Blair.
He said the company therefore found the decision to go with another Speedmaster straightforward. The firm also runs two Quickmaster presses as well as Stahlfolders and Polar guillotines from Heidelberg.
The machine was installed at the company’s 3,900sqm premises around two weeks ago and will be running by the end of this week. It will enable the firm to bring B2 work in-house.
The press is specified with Autoplate Pro simultaneous plate changing and Easy Control colour measurement technology. It will operate on a single-shift basis increasing to two shifts as demand dictates.
“The B3 has been really successful for us so we’re going up a step now. We’ve been missing out on one or two jobs over the years and we just wanted to diversify a little bit,” said Blair.
“This press will enable us to add another service to our portfolio and to attract even more high-quality contracts. The specification means we can add special colours and spot or full varnishes.”
Around 80% of the company’s work is currently for the NHS and it operates a range of bespoke machinery it has had built especially to serve this client.
Blair said the new press will meet some of the higher quality, larger format demand from the NHS but will also enable it to take on other work.
“We haven’t really targeted a lot of commercial work before but we can really target it now and try to increase the amount that we do,” he said.
The company also installed a Duplo 600i booklet system and DKT-200 two-knife trimmer last month, bringing its total recent investment in new machinery to more than £800,000.
The firm is aiming to visit Drupa later this year to look at the new technology available, with a view to possibly investing in more new kit.
“If you don’t go to these exhibitions you never know what’s coming up and if you don’t invest and get the state-of-the-art machinery then you can fall behind very quickly,” said Blair.
