The folder was supplied by Friedheim International and is priced at around £90,000. It was installed in mid July and replaces a Stahl folder that the Exeter-based company had been operating for around 15 years.
Larkbeare managing director Neil Oakley said: “I’ve been doing this for more than 30 years and we’ve had a combination of MBOs and Stahls during that time but I prefer the longevity of the MBO really.
“The rollers don’t need re-covering anywhere near as often as other folders do and in the long-term it’s a cheaper machine to run.
“We’ve also changed the configuration slightly; we took out an all-buckle machine to put in this combination machine. The purpose is to get quicker makereadies because you don’t have to wheel extra bits around and changeovers become a bit quicker.”
The folder joins Larkbeare's two other current MBOs. Oakley said he had looked around the market for a number of months before settling on it and signing in March.
It has been bought mainly to feed Larkbeare’s Kolbus KM600 perfect binding line, which was installed back in 2011, and also to do preparation work for its three Wire-O binding lines.
“It is cutting lead times, which is what every printer in the world wants from their finisher. It means we can keep entire jobs here sometimes,” added Oakley.
“Occasionally we get jobs that have been split between different binders but now we can take on massive runs as we have such power in the wire-binding market.”
The 26-staff outfit turned over £2m last year. Other than the folders and the Kolbus, it also runs two Wohlenberg guillotines, a Muller saddle stitcher and various other bits of finishing kit.
