The customer experience centre opened in August at Saica Pack’s newly built Livingston factory, which has taken over operations from the group’s decommissioned Glasgow and Edinburgh operations.

Built around a Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX UV LED flatbed press, bought from CMYUK in late 2022, and two CNC machines, the centre has already seen major clients including Diageo come to Livingston to induct new starters to the world of print.

The customer experience room sits within Saica’s innovation centre, which was built to run continuously as a development lab for the firm’s product offering.

Grant McDonald, the firm’s print and graphics manager, told Printweek: “Instead of clients having to spend a fortune on flexo plates, inks, and time on the machine, they can walk away with a digital sample on the specific material they want.

“We can also offer clients advice, as they come up with their designs, on how it could be created in order to suit the flexo process. We have our structural and graphic designers here who can show them exactly what to do with their concept for it to work on our machines.”

Using the Mimaki, Saica Pack can now also produce bespoke digital samples with variable information.

“We’re really finding our feet with this department,” McDonald added.

The Livingston factory itself is now Saica’s flagship packaging facility in the UK, having absorbed its other Scottish operations. 

The factory runs largely Bobst flexo kit, with a four-colour Bobst 820, a five-colour 824, a six-colour 924, and Bobst DRO four- and six-colour presses.

Saica Pack’s UK operations turned over around £432m in 2022 and employ 1,324 staff.