The Staffordshire-based printer and signmaker purchased the cutting table to complement other recent acquisitions, including an EFI Vutek GS3200 superwide-format printer, and position the company for post-pandemic expansion.
Simon Talbot, director at Kazoo, said: “There’s no doubt that there have been moments of uncertainty over the last two years, but we recognised an opportunity to take stock and assess how we could grow.
“With the help of Lloyds Bank, we’ve been able to invest in those opportunities and it’s paying off.”
Kazoo secured an £81,000 hire purchase facility from Lloyds Bank to buy the cutting table - the third machine it has bought from reseller CMYUK.
Installed in February at the firm’s 370sqm site, the cutting table has allowed the company's finishing capacity to catch up with its printers, which it had upgraded during the pandemic.
Kazoo’s printers - a Vutek QS2 Pro large-format printer, the Vutek GS3200, and HP Latex devices - have now been given room to run at full capacity, speeding production to up to ten times its pre-pandemic levels - up to 1,000 advertising boards a day.
Talbot, speaking to Printweek, added: “It will help us to increase our productivity and efficiency and will create new jobs – we’re looking to take on ten new staff already.”
Kazoo has increased its annual turnover by 40% since 2019, he added.
While Kazoo did look at alternatives to the Kongsberg, according to Talbot the table offered good value for money, fulfilling all of the company’s requirements.
The X24 has been put to use already on a wide range of jobs across all of Kazoo’s clients - typically high street brands - including projects run on Foamex, vinyl and various POS materials.
Vijay Chouhan, relationship manager at Lloyd’s Bank, added: “Kazoo is the perfect example of a business that used the downtime the pandemic created productively.
“Investment in new machinery and new staff was brave during a period of uncertainty but is testament to the vision of Simon and the team to identify opportunities and areas for growth.”
