Installed at the start of August, the circa £300,000 investment brings in a BH 82 buckle model with round pile feeder and a CH 78 combination model with pallet feeder to replace two ageing models that the Antrim, NI-based company had run for nearly 20 years.

By taking on the two new machines, W&G Baird will be able to lift its folding output by around 30%-40%, according to managing director Patrick Moffatt.

He said: “The main motivation for the upgrade was that the older Stahlfolders were no longer fit for purpose and causing bottlenecks, but we come back to Heidelberg because our company has been around for 150 years and has always had a Heidelberg presence.

“We come back to Heidelberg because we love their service. Getting jobs out quickly is vital and finishing is a part of that process, so it is important we have up to date equipment.

“The older folders take a lot of skill to run and these new folders will make life easier for the operators.”

Both the Stahlfolder BH 82 and CH 78 are compact models capable of handling stocks from 40-250gsm. The BH 82 can accommodate a pile height of 800mm and will handle sheets of up to 820x1,280mm. The CH 78 takes piles up to 1.2m and will run sheets up to 780x1,200mm.

W&G Baird will be using the machines to help serve its client bases in the educational and B2B sectors, producing sectional and leaflet work. It also runs two Stahlfolder TX 96 buckle plate folding systems.

The £14m-turnover company runs a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL and an eight-colour Komori on its 2,800sqm factory floor, as well as a Kolbus KM 800 binder. With 100 members of staff, it also has sales offices in Dublin and Nottingham.