The MBO K530/4 SKTL with A56 mobile stream delivery was delivered to Lowfield’s Dartford plant at the end of December and, following full staff training ending last week, is running at full production.
Lowfield managing director Nigel Starkey said that he had already processed a "very successful" run of 100,000 copies of a 4pp folded leaflet for a "well known company" in around four hours.
Starkey said he chose the machine because it was compact, and had the same footprint as the 30-year-old MBO that it replaced.
The new MBO also enables Lowfield to keep "99.5%" of its folding work in-house as it has a wider range of fold sizes, running down to a 35mm fold and 100mm sheet at the smallest.
Starkey said: "Before the new MBO arrived, sometimes we were putting work out for somebody else to do, and sometimes we were doing it multiple-up, but it wasn’t always economical that way."
He added that his workload had increased in recent years, prompting an investment rally that has so far totalled around £700,000. The company bought in a five-colour Ryobi 750 two years ago and is now looking to upgrade on the finishing side.
Starkey said his next search is for a modern guillotine to upgrade his 115 Perfecta. The company reported a 6% growth in turnover this year, taking it to around £1.2m, and hopes to bring in higher incomes as the investment project continues.
