The Birmingham-based mailing house invested in the £100,000 machine in June. It operates alongside two Kern 2500 systems, improving the firm’s flexibility in the turnaround speed it can offer to clients.

Operations director Wesley Sinclair said: “We decided to stay with Kern because of what they have done for us in the past. They have always been really good to us from a service point of view and our staff are already trained on how to operate their machines.

“It will be used typically to help create A4 letter campaigns, personalised and enclosed to clients’ specification. The speed was first and foremost what we were looking for as customers used to ask for on-the-day jobs, which we could not offer before.

“Like any direct mailing company, our goal now is growth – we are putting a lot of emphasis on our marketing and getting our environmental appeal out there, which includes our new eco-friendly polywrap offering. It’s really a case of building on what we have got and trying to bring as much in house as we can.”

The Swiss-built Kern 3500 system is designed for flexibility and shorter production times, running up to 52,800sph with a high-capacity loader for up to 8,000 sheets. It comes with inserting and sealing modules capable of processing DL and C5 envelopes at speeds up to 22,000cph.

Bakergoodchild began its relationship with Hampshire-based Kern UK in 2011 when it installed a 2000 insertion system, which has since been phased out. Over the years, two 2500 machines joined one after the other and continue to run alongside the new 3500.

Onsite, the company runs a printing portfolio boasting machines from Ricoh, Konica Minolta and Xerox, as well as two Norpack P9 polywrapping lines, two Buhrs BB300 auto-inserters and a full gamut of finishing equipment. The workflow is united using Tharstern MIS.

It employs 60 members of staff and currently turns over £9m.