But not by Alan Padbury, managing director of Cardiff and Bristol-based Westdale Printing Group. His year-old Goss Purlux 1200 saddlestitcher doesn’t produce any unheard of formats. Nor does it produce brochures or catalogues in a revolutionary, new way. Plenty of machines – notably those from the likes of Muller Martini and Heidelberg – also stitch books by dropping sections onto a belt, lining them up, adding two wide staples in one pass and trimming to size.
But this doesn’t make the Purlux’s ability to do this in a speedy and reliable way any less valuable, says Padbury. "In truth it’s a stitch line and it does what stitch lines do. I can’t honestly say that there’s anything fantastic or quirky about it, that it does anything special that another stitch line can’t do," he says. "But it is a straightforward good line. It’s a workhorse."
In fact so productive has the stitcher been since being installed following a sale at last May’s Drupa, that it has now replaced the Muller line it was intended initially to complement. The four-station 355 Muller line was an ageing machine anyway. So it quickly became apparent that the Goss line, along with another Muller model bought at Drupa 2008, would be more than up to the job of processing the commercial brochures and mail order catalogue work coming the Cardiff plant’s way.
"We often use both stitchers for a single run; lead times are so silly these days that many jobs are run across two lines," says Padbury. "The Purlux holds its own with the Muller and you could draw a fine line between them. They perform very similarly, which speaks volumes for the Purlux."
Padbury is very happy, then, with the productivity of his new stitcher. "It certainly maintains good speeds," he says. He does concede though that the type of work Westdale runs, doesn’t typically require the kit to be operated at break-neck speeds.
"We do such a broad cross-section of work that we don’t really achieve maximum speeds all the time. We’re not the sort of printing company that’s purely focused on speed; what we’re looking for is quality and work being delivered on time," he says, explaining that this is very much what Westdale has made it’s name for, since being established as a sheetfed house in 1984, and subsequently moving into web offset a few years later (its current press line-up consists of two Heidelberg XL perfectors and a Goss M600).
Reliable performer
Even though the stitcher hasn’t been pushed to its limit speed-wise, its track record for reliability has still been impressive, says Padbury. "We’ve not had any particular issues with it mechanically or electronically, I’ve not been made aware of any problems at any point," he says, adding: "It’s a very nicely designed machine from an electronics point of view."
And Padbury is confident Goss would offer very high levels of support should any service issues arise. Installation and training was all carried out without a hitch, he reports. "They sent a team from China when it was installed so it was very carefully set up," he says, adding: "We had to move a few pallets out the way and that was it. We had to run a wire to it, but it was a piece of cake as the space it now occupies was only used for storage before."
In fact, a key factor in Westdale deciding to opt for a Goss stitching line over those Heidelberg and Muller models the company also looked at, was how supportive Goss already was as supplier of the company’s Goss M600 press.
"There were a number of factors, one of them being a possibly better relationship on service with Goss than we had with Muller," says Padbury. "We had a particularly good working relationship with them, we’ve always got on well even though we’re only a one-press house for Goss."
A key factor, though, was price. After it became part of Shanghai Electrics, Goss was looking, explains Padbury, to get a first install of the Purlux in the UK, and so was willing to offer a competitive package.
"There was the opportunity for some extended service agreements and so on, which made it more attractive for us," says Padbury, who reports that the overall spend, including the extended warranty, was around the £300,000 mark.
"We were aware of the Heidelberg line but the problem was that we knew there was a higher ticket price on that machine, and our own experience with Heidelberg stitching lines hadn’t been the best a few years ago," he adds. "This had a nice fit and a nice feel to it so we went for it."
Being the first company to install the Purlux, Padbury also knew he could rely on Goss for plenty of installation, training and service support. And he knew that having two machines from the same manufacturer was a sure way of boosting this support.
"Because it’s the first in the UK, they’ve been very attentive in making sure we get the best service," says Padbury, adding: "It’s nice to have more than one machine from the same manufacturer. It makes them more interested in you because there’s more potential for reinvestment. Web offset doesn’t get replaced that quickly, I’m still a good few years off replacing that, so having this is a good way of keeping the relationship strong."
Asian favourite
And Padbury wasn’t worried about any UK-first teething troubles. To his mind he was getting the best of both worlds: a beta-test type discount and support package, on a tried and tested machine. "The sell was the fact that if you’re in China or Korea you have a Purlux; this is the stitch line of choice in Asia," says Padbury. "It’s long-established over there, it just hadn’t made it into the West."
So Padbury is very pleased with his decision to do things just a bit differently, albeit in a pretty understated way.
"If the other one reaches the age where it needs to be replaced I wouldn’t have any hesitation transferring it to a Purlux," says Padbury. "If Goss continue to be the good friends that they are in business then they’d have every chance of getting that order from me."
SPECIFICATIONS
Max format untrimmed: 480x311mm; trimmed: 475x300mm
Min format untrimmed: 153x108mm; trimmed: 143x105mm
Max center cut trimmed two 234.5x300mm books
Min center cut trimmed two 95x105mm books
Max product thickness normal stitch: 10mm; loop stitch: 6mm
Max number of stitching heads normal stitch: six Hohner M45/6; loop stitch: four Hohner M55/L
Speed variability Infinite up to 12,000 cycles per hour
Power requirements 400v/3ph/50-60hz
Price from $360,000
Contact Goss International www.gossinternational.com 01772 257571
COMPANY PROFILE
Westdale Printing Group was established in 1984 as a sheetfed house, moving into web offset in 1987. It has grown year-on-year to achieve a turnover just shy of £20m last year. The company employs 125 staff, spread between its Cardiff print site and Western Print Finishing in Bristol.
Why it was bought…
Westdale invested in a Goss Purlux 1200 saddlestitcher at last May’s Drupa. The intention was to boost productivity by complementing its existing two Muller Martini stitchers. The company was also keen to add a six-station line to allow greater flexibility in the number of sections that could be bound into any one job.
How it has performed…
The Purlux has proved so reliable and productive that it has actually ended up replacing one of the Muller models, an ageing 355, reports managing director Alan Padbury. "It is a straightforward good line. It’s a workhorse," he says, adding: "This had a nice fit and a nice feel to it so we went for it." He adds that support from Goss has been characteristically strong.
