The spend comes off the back of the Barking-based company doubling its clicks for each of the past two years. Prior to this latest spend the company had capacity for 10m clicks per month; following September’s installation of the two flagship 7500s, this has increased to 24m.
"And we’ll be using every single one of them in December, that’s for sure," said managing director Gary Peeling.
The latest 120ppm colour digital presses have joined four other Indigos at the company, a 7500, a 7000 and two 5000s, making it one of the largest Indigo installations in the UK.
The digital spend was complemented by the installation of a Renz Inline 500 fully automatic wire-binding line, a substantial upgrade to the company’s in-house developed, award-winning workflow, Oneflow, and a wholesale revamp of the company’s fulfilment operation.
"We’ve been very much focussed on increasing productivity, so, for example, we’ve increases productivity in terms of our output on the fulfilment side six-fold year-on-year."
According to Peeling, the next phase of investment plan is likely to focus on replacing the company’s 5000s next year and the introduction of "dynamic finishing platforms".
"We’re experiencing significant demand on the digital side of the business, our digital growth is around 80% per annum, so clearly we will require further expansion in 2012, but the exact platforms will probably emerge from Drupa."
The company took its first steps into digital only six years ago, at which time it was a £5.5m turnover litho business employing 85 staff and handling 45 orders a day. Today it employs 130 full time staff and sales are projected to hit £14m in 2011. All of the growth has been driven by digital, which now generates £8m of sales and between 10,000 and 20,000 orders per day, each with a typical value of £2.30.
Clients include a leading photo brand, for which the company produces a range of personalised photo products, charities, leading agencies and blue-chip clients. The company is also solely responsible for the production of Clinton’s on-demand greetings cards.
