The group has bought two of Artisan’s four binding lines, including the highly-specified Muller Martini Corona C18 line that Artisan Press purchased in 2012. Wyndeham described it as “the single most productive binding machine operating in the UK market”.
It has invested more than £1m in the binding lines and associated ancillary kit.
The group will operate the new Wyndeham Binders business from the 3,800sqm site in Leicester that used to house Artisan’s bindery, which means the equipment does not have to be moved.
Wyndeham has agreed a “multimillion-pound” deal with the retailer for binding services on Argos’ two main catalogues and its Christmas gift guide, encompassing some 15m-17m catalogues a year.
“It’s very exciting. We approached it positively, and Argos was keen to bind in the UK so it was a meeting of minds,” said Wyndeham Group chief executive Paul Utting. “We signed the contract yesterday and will start binding very soon. We really had to get our skates on to make this work.”
Wyndeham Binders will employ up to 48 at its busiest production times, and the firm will take on some of the former Artisan workforce. Stuart Boyall, who was the bindery manager at Artisan, will run the unit.
Argos head of publications and new media Dominic Pemberton said: “We’ve been hugely impressed with Wyndeham’s speed and dedication to provide us with a UK-based binding solution at such short notice. Their ability to quickly establish a new facility in Leicester, invest in key equipment and employ many of Artisan’s skilled staff, has given us the confidence to commit to Wyndeham for the long-term.”
Although Argos has revamped its business model and plans to eventually halve the number of catalogues it produces, it still involves a huge amount of print and binding with multiple gravure printers across Europe engaged in the production.
Artisan Press went into administration in May. Wyndeham acquired the kit from finance firm Lombard and from administrators at Deloitte.
Wyndeham now lays claim to the largest perfect binding capability in the country, with 13 binding lines across the group. Utting said Wyndeham Binders would also handle overflow work from its other sites as well as from new customers.
“Location-wise, it’s in a great position for us and our customers,” he added.
Wyndeham will lease the premises from the factory owner Artisan Press Holdings, which is not in administration.
Artisan Press’s other equipment, including six web offset presses, is being sold off by Winterhill.
Wyndeham's move comes just six weeks after owner Walstead Investments expanded into continental Europe with the purchase of Be Printers' £100m turnover Spanish web offset and gravure operations.
