The new machines: a Robatech horseshoe gluing device, a Robatech 16 gun cold glue system and a Stahl mailing line, were bought from ALB Guillotine and Print Services and installed in November.

Managing director Stephanie Thompson, also the owner of the Basildon, Essex-based family-run business, spearheaded the £100,000 kit investment. Her son Jack Thompson, a director of the company, was also a significant driving force behind the venture.

Finishing manager Joe Thompson said: “We’ve also got a B1 flatbed SBL die-cutter with stripping-out unit and what we discovered was we were doing a lot of one-piece mailer die-cutting, which was going elsewhere to be glued and made up.

“Now we’ve bought the new kit we can offer that service in-house and it hasn’t stopped since we got it. We can now also offer additional services for the same sort of cost; it’s about adding value for our customers.”

The firm also runs a wide range of other post-press equipment including MBO T69, T72 and T79 folding machines, a Muller Martini six-station stitching line with cover feeder, a 12-station Setmaster collator and a Moll Versa-Fold device.

Kaps Finishing, which has 11 staff and a turnover of around £400,000, predominantly serves trade printers. Its services including tipping on, collating, gluing, tape application, perforating, creasing, shrink-wrapping and wiro binding.