The creative design and print firm’s investment round follows the consolidation of its Thundridge and Harlow production sites into an expanded Harlow site in Essex.
The AccurioPress C12000, installed in mid-November, will be joined by a Morgana Digifold Pro XL, BM4050 Booklet Maker, ColorFlare CF2500 Laminator/Foiler, EBA 7260 Guillotine and SC7000 Pro XL Digital Die Cutter.
“Everything is brand spanking new, so it will make a big difference for us,” said Graham Pitts, group managing director at KGK Genix, adding that all kit should be operational by the end of the month.
“It’s a considerable investment from our side, but it will help us significantly to keep an eye on quality, turnaround time, and overall service levels.”
KGK Genix will primarily use the AccurioPress for SRA3 work which it had previously entirely outsourced, being primarily a wide-format printer.
“We were getting let down on turnaround times, squeezed on margins, and because we run campaigns across multiple media, we weren’t able to colour manage somebody else’s print,” Pitts explained.
“Bringing it in-house, especially with our ISO accreditations, just made absolute sense. The investment will pay for itself in less than a year: it was a no-brainer.”
The new machines, and a soon-to-come arrival from SwissQprint, will fill out KGK Genix’s Harlow site, recently expanded to 2,200sqm by the leasing of a neighbouring unit.
With it has come the closure of the firm’s Thundridge site just seven miles away.
“The downside was that we were running out of space in both locations – we were lucky because the unit next to us in Harlow came up [for lease],” Pitts said.
“Without losing any production people, we were able to amalgamate the sites,” he explained, adding that the move has allowed the firm to more efficiently assign its workforce, without having to waste people resources reduplicating work across two sites.
The same goes for stock, Pitts added: “We’ve still got a huge amount of stock – over £200,000 worth – but we had even more than that, and we were always moving material from one site to the other.
“It’s helped us deliver a faster, more efficient service, and cuts our carbon footprint – and there are obvious cost savings.”
KGK Genix employs 66 staff across the Harlow production site and its London design office, turning over just under £9m.
“We’re looking at growth across the board, but we’re being strategic about what we’re targeting,” Pitts said.
“Part of our focus is on working smarter, not harder, and trying to bring as much as possible in-house, because then you’ve got full control. We’re also looking to grow through potential acquisition next year.”
