The Gietz was installed at the end of May, when Marstan realised that it would require more than just its Heidelberg platen foiler to deliver for the contract. It cost £99,000 and was financed by Shire Leasing.
The contract, commissioned by DL Vouchers, is to provide silver foiling on around 2 million vouchers a month for a major wine company, for at least the next 12 months. The foiler can process around 300,000 vouchers per 12-hour shift.
Marstan moved into the foiling market last December when it purchased the platen as part of a £200,000 investment in new finishing kit, which also included a Heidelberg Stahlfolder KH 66.
Marstan director Martin Lett Jnr said: “We would have made do with the platen but because of the contract it physically wouldn’t be able to handle the throughput, so we’ve got this one in, which can take double the sheet size of the platen. It should be a little faster as well, so more than double the production.
“We were going to go for a rebuilt Heidelberg cylinder but then we were speaking to someone else in the foiling trade, a foil supplier, who saw the job we were doing and recommended going for the Gietz.”
The Gietz takes a maximum sheet size of 560x790mm, considerably more than the platen, which takes a maximum SRA3 size. It runs at speeds of up to 5,000sph and comes with four foil pulls, allowing for multi-coloured foiling in one pass.
The Bexleyheath, Kent-based company was initially commissioned for only part of the DL contract, but Lett said its on-time delivery meant DL contacted him to offer him it in full. He said the move into foiling has been highly successful for the business.
Lett said: “Certainly it’s positive to win a contract on its own, it’s worthwhile and will attract other types of work. When you are looking at a commodity-based job of say 100,000 flyers and you’ve got 300 local competitors, it’s all about price. By going for foiling you are looking at bespoke higher-end stuff and it’s more about the finished product and the quality of service rather than solely the price.”
Upcoming foiling work for Marstan includes gold embossing business cards for a Chinese restaurant and Christmas cracker foiling.
Other machines run by Marstan include a 10-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 75, purchased in early 2014 and a Xerox iGen 150 XXL, purchased in March 2015. Digital work accounts for approximately one fifth of the company’s £5.2m turnover.
Lett said turnover is likely to increase and that Marstan is considering adding to its 50 staff with an operator solely for the Gietz.
