Construction of the new press hall began in January. With the building now ready, the Bourne, Lincolnshire firm has confirmed the make and model of its new press – a 37,500cph long-grain 32pp Manroland Lithoman IV, with the latest specification for flexible production.
“We began taking delivery of our new Lithoman in early November. It has been amazing seeing everything come together with the build taking place over the spring and summer,” said marketing manager Michael Warner.
“All four ink units have now arrived and been placed into position as well as the dryer. Over the next few weeks the rest of the machine will be delivered and installed including the ancillary equipment such as our plate maker. The machine is scheduled to be fully operational and producing good copy early 2020.”
The company already runs two 32pp Lithoman web presses, as well as a 16pp Goss M600.
Warner said the firm had a policy of continuous investment in the business, and the decision to opt for another Lithoman had been “a simple one”.
“We have run Lithomans in house since 2006 and have been consistently impressed with the performance of the machines. This will be our third one. For our particular sector, the specialist magazine and brochure market, we found the Lithoman to be a perfect fit,” he explained.
“The investment we have made is considerable and a real statement of our intentions for the future.”
Manroland Web Systems (UK) managing director John Ellis said: "We are obviously absolutely delighted with this order and look forward to extending our relationship with Warners."
Warner said the new press would increase capacity at the company and allows it to produce work more efficiently “meaning we can to take on more work particularly at busier times of the month when we have currently had to stop taking orders”.
“Naturally we are very pleased to have another fantastic addition to our plant and are excited about the extra ‘fire power’ the new press brings. There are of course always the added bonuses that come with new equipment such as better energy efficiency, running speeds, make ready times and reduced wastage.
“We have had to face years of increasing input prices and the extra productivity of the new machine will help us continue to absorb these costs,” he added.
It also runs Manroland Sheetfed and Koenig & Bauer B1 long-perfecting sheetfed presses with reel sheeters as well as a six-colour Komori Lithrone with UV coater. The firm also has an extensive bindery as well as in-house mailing. The business could decide to retire an older 16pp press once the new machine is fully up and running, but no concrete decisions have been made as yet.
Warners Midlands employs more than 230 staff and had sales of just under £32m last year. It operates from a 12 acre site and the new building has increased production space by more than 3,000sqm.
