At €17,000 (£13,700) and with a manual element for adjusting the machine’s light cutting guide, the X-Y is intended as a more entry-level alternative to other trimmers on the market.

“The idea was to bring to market a machine that price-wise is suitable for more people,” said owner Laurent Bouchard.

The machine’s maximum cutting width of 1,650mm has been deliberately designed to be compatible with the width of Kala’s existing laminator range, added Bouchard. And ease of use has also been a key consideration.

“What we noticed from end users of laminators was that they spent a lot of time training people to use finishing machines. So we thought it would be good to bring something to market to reduce that - that’s needed in all countries,” said Bouchard.

The X-Y Trimmer can cut substrates up to 1mm thick, and cuts a range of substrates including photo paper, vinyl, laminated substrates, light PVC banner and polyester films.

It has a maximum roll media diameter of 250mm, and operating speed of up to 25m/min and a cross trimming blade speed of up to 120m/min.

Bouchard reported high interest levels in the trimmer at Fespa with several resellers of its existing machines signing up to distribute this too.

Also on Kala’s Fespa stand are its Arkane, Atlantic and Mistral laminators. “Our laminators are getting more and more popular in Europe because of their price position,” said Bouchard. “People talk a lot among themselves in this market and spread the news so we are becoming leaders in Europe.”

A growing market for Kala is the textile finishing market, where it is introducing a dye sub calendering kit for example.