A process of assessment and due diligence led to FDM identifying the Fusion Cross machines as the right technology to increase productivity and enhance workstream integrity, via greater levels of automation and enhanced reporting.

FDM managing director Richard Farmer commented, ‘For 30 years our clients have trusted us to deliver critical communications on time every time. This investment will benefit existing and new clients through the use of Bowe’s state-of-the-art insertion technology and is the next step on FDM’s journey as a complete document solutions provider, adding to our capacity and further enhancing our automated processes. I am delighted to enter into this important partnership with the Bowe team.’

Launched in 2016, the Fusion Cross is the 24,000 items per hour mid-range version of Bowe’s stable of Fusion Inserters. These machines are customisable and share a patented ‘flow principle’ digital inserting engine design that includes camera reading on sheet input. Camera reading is also provided on two of the four encloser feeders, enabling the production of highly personalised matching applications.

Adrian Mills, Bowe Systec UK account manager said, ‘I am delighted that FDM have identified Bowe Systec as their preferred technology partner of choice to support the strategic direction of the business. Bowe welcomes the opportunity to work in partnership with FDM on operational and commercial support as their needs evolve in securing new contracts to enable the future growth of their business.’

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The mailing forum brought together customers from several print and mail specialists including Go Inspire, Integrity Connect, The Mailshop, Datagraphic, Civica and CustomerKnect, plus representatives of the Strategic Mailing Partnership. Staff from the Bowe’s three divisions – Systec, Intralogistics and IQ – presented updates on their respective ranges and offerings: Systec for the Fusion and G9 lines of inserters, including variable card insertion options and BoxIt postal tray systems; Intralogistics on robot automation for warehouse operations, including both cobot (collaborative robots, working close to humans) and fully caged types, as well as AMR (autonomous mobile robot) and ‘tugbot’ models.

Bowe IQ’s software capabilities in warehouse management systems (WMS) and trolley, parcel or item-level tracking via RFID stickers were discussed and demonstrated; the division’s Nick Craven-Smith explained how WMS in some respects overlaps with or could complement a print MIS by providing physical workflow tracking and dashboard-style analytics of mail packs or other print products through the finishing and fulfilment stages.

The customer discussion revealed a strong desire for more real-time information and tracking of products around the factory, with a need for further bi-directional data interconnection between inserting/sorting lines, finishing equipment and production scheduling systems; limitations in product tracking through Royal Mail’s services were also noted.

Bowe UK sales director Andy Wain commented, ‘We were absolutely delighted to be hosting the Bowe Mailing Forum for the second year running; we see great value in hosting this event which allows us to bring print and mail industry professions together to share the many challenges they face within their businesses. This feedback is highly valuable to the Bowe Group as it allows us to drive our ever-expanding R&D teams through the business and truly support what our customers specifically need.’

The acquisition by Bowe Group of Solcon Systemtechnik of Lübeck, Germany was completed in April 2023. It supports both the Intralogistics and IQ arms of the group and will allow it to expand its portfolio specifically with high-performance, electronic locating (RTLS) and RFID solutions, which are increasingly in demand, both in print and mail intralogistics and in other industries.

‘This new investment will allow us to expand our portfolio with market-leading solution components that round off and improve the ranges presently available from Bowe IQ and Bowe Intralogistics. What’s more, Solcon’s technologies have the potential to enhance software solutions from MOV.AI, our associated company for autonomous mobile robots, and make them more efficient with Solcon’s anti-collision system,’ said Joachim Koschier, managing director of the Bowe Group. ‘In short, this represents the next step in the extension of the Bowe Group’s value chain. The engagement with Solcon fits in exactly with our long-term strategy of becoming the single point of contact for customers in all markets we serve.’

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Over the years, Hunkeler’s eponymous Innovationdays event has become an important platform for the continuous feed digital printing industry to coalesce around, attracting all the major press manufacturers as well as a variety of software developers, and providing a highly focused gathering for this part of the digital printing industry.

Almost 100 partners will also present their latest products in all areas of digital printing and processing in Halls 1 and 2 at the Messe Luzern. These partners include all the major manufacturers of printing and finishing systems, software developers and providers of finishing materials and consumables. As in previous years, many of the exhibitors will use the event to offer a European or global premiere of their latest innovations. A selection of these is listed below.

Exhibitor highlights

Mailroom automation for transactional print and direct mail will be the focus of the Bowe Systec stand, with a particular focus on the Fusion Speed inserting system, which will have its first ever live demonstration in Lucerne. The inserter can process up to 30,000 envelopes per hour and will be demonstrated in conjunction with Bowe’s Boxit system for automatic filling of postal trays. The company will also explain how upstream and downstream stages can be streamlined as part of an end-to-end automation concept.

Canon is playing its cards close to its chest but has promised two product news announcements at the event which ‘build on Canon’s expertise in inkjet’. Topics to be discussed also include the company’s strategy and how technology and business innovation can be harnessed together help ‘future-proof’ PSPs’ operations; the focus will be on publishing, promotion and business communications.

Another premiere at Innovationdays will be on HP’s stand, where the recently-launched PageWide Advantage 2200 digital web press will make it first European appearance. During the four days of the event, HP will be printing different applications such as postcards, leaflets, catalogues and books on a variety of substrates on the 150m/min press. In addition, the US company will showcase automation and services solutions.

Hybrid Software Group will feature its technologies for industrial print manufacturing processes which use inkjet and other printing techniques, showcasing all its brands covering the full stack of core technologies needed for inkjet. These include colour management, high-speed Digital Front Ends and Rips, pre-press software for labels and packaging and printhead drive electronics. All the group brands will be represented: ColorLogic; Global Graphics Software; Hybrid Software; iC3D; Meteor Inkjet and Xitron.

Converting and high quality embellishment will be the theme of the Kama stand, which will feature the Servo generation of the ProCut 76 Foil. The machine suits a range of applications from die-cutting, creasing and perforating to embellishment with hot foil, hologram and relief for commercial jobs and folding cartons. It will be shown with the AutoRegister AR3, which uses two cameras to bring each sheet into position at full speed.

Kern will present the new Kern 3200 Flash, a modular multi-format inserting system designed for flexible and complex inserting jobs in the medium- to high-output range. Different configuration options make it suitable for use in transactional and direct mail. A newly-developed inserting module is said to be the only system in this performance class that can be equipped with more than one envelope magazine, allowing the system to process different envelopes job by job, without the operator having to make a physical change. The 3200 Flash can be combined with a choice of modules, including roll and single sheet feeding. It is also possible to integrate up to 16 inserting stations.

Kodak’s Prosper Ultra 520 will get its first European showing

Another European first will be the Prosper Ultra 520 web press from Kodak. To be shown with a Hunkeler unwinder and rewinder, along with the Hunkeler WI8 web inspection system, the press will print live three versions of a ‘magalog’ (blend of magazine and catalogue) with different editorial and marketing content. The application will demonstrate the Ultra 520’s ability to print heavy ink coverage on standard offset paper at 150m/min. Other finished samples from the Ultra 520 and from the Prosper 7000 Turbo press, which runs at up to 410m/min, will also be presented, along with Kodak’s Prinergy On Demand workflow software.

Kyocera will feature its TaskAlfa Pro 15000C sheet-fed inkjet press, with a focus on its sustainability credentials, productivity, output quality and media flexibility. One-to-one demonstrations are being offered. More information may also be available about the graphic-arts focused version that is understood to be in development.

Another world first in Lucerne is the arrival of the Prinova Digital Saddle stitcher from Müller Martini. The highly automated 9000 cycles per hour unit supports both digital and hybrid print production and brings Müller’s Smart Factory concept to magazines, brochures and catalogues. Developments to the Vareo Pro perfect binding line will also be shown, including a mixed mode that allows softcover books and hardcover book blocks to be produced in the same run, complemented by a new de-stacker and sorting for subsequent InfiniTrim cutting. A variety of live jobs, including all-digital and hybrid printed products, will be featured, along with the supporting Connex workflow.

Workflow developer OneVision will explain how its software allows for ‘a complete integration of company processes’ by being configured to suit existing systems. The modular middleware can automate the production process from file input through printing and embellishment and finishing, while connecting to existing print and finishing hardware and software such as MIS or ERP.

Ricoh will be making the first public showing of its Pro VC70000e inkjet press that includes a number of hardware and software features and updates which collectively increase ease of use through automation, while providing greater media and applications flexibility via pre-coating. This will be complemented by the introduction of TotalFlow Producer, which the company describes as a ‘vendor agnostic automated job onboarding solution’. The new workflow software designed to automate job intake and consolidation from multiple sources, to run automatic pre-flighting and to support personalised job upload and status portals for print clients.

Riso will feature its newest additions to the SRA3 Valezus sheet-fed inkjet line, which are targeted at production print job demands that are difficult to handle efficiently on continuous-feed presses. The twin-engined Valezus T2200 is capable of duplex printing at 330ppm. The single-engine Valezus T1200 is aimed at both short and long-run full-colour transactional printing at 165ppm. Both are equipped with feeder/stacker units for a maximum capacity of 8000 sheets on the T2200, and half that on the T2100. Both models support uncoated papers only, from 46 to 210gsm.

The Smart High Definition technology from Scodix will appear in the premiere of the Ultra 6000 embellishment press

Also making a first European appearance will be the Ultra 6000 digital embellishment press from Scodix with SHD (smart high definition) capability. It will be used to demonstrate embellishment of B1 and B2 sheets for a variety of book covers, from paperbacks to high-end jackets and Scodix says it embodies the economics and productivity to replace analogue embellishment technology whilst offering publishers greater flexibility. Examples of the SHD technology will also be shown.

Staff from Solimar Systems will demonstrate how its workflow-enhancing post-composition solutions support production printing on both cut-sheet and continuous feed devices, finishing, mailing, e-delivery and document archiving. The company is partnering with HP to show how direct mailers can save significant sums and with Screen to demonstrate dashboard tracking of incoming work and device-level ink and media consumption reporting via Screen’s Equios workflow.

W+D will use the event to launch its new BB820+, a new flagship inserter which the company says allows for the widest range of direct mail sizes, from C6 envelopes up to B4 flat packages up to 15mm thick, and which can insert at up to 20,000 piece per hour, 25% faster than the model it replaces. The new machine comes with a new rotary feeder for consistent feeding at the higher speeds and an additional servo axis for flexible and size-dependent motion control of collating track, envelope gripper transport andinsert finger.

Short-run book printing using the Sirius dry toner technology will form a major part of the Xeikon exhibit, centred on the roll-fed duplex Xeikon SX30000 press, which is also getting its first public European showing. Three high-end applications will be shown – a coffee-table travel book, a full colour tourist guide and a highly illustrated book on architecture. The SX30000 roll-fed press will be running in line with a Hunkeler Gen8 roll-to-stack solution, producing book blocks which to be bound on an offline Muller Martini Vareo Pro with InfiniTrim.

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EcoVadis assessment evaluates 21 sustainability criteria across four core themes: environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. More than 85,000 companies have been rated worldwide. Go Inspire used EcoVadis and World Land Trust frameworks to review  its processes and to help guide its sustainability decisions. Following this guidance, the company has invested over £1 million to enhance its printed assets delivery capabilities and to further reduce its energy usage.

The company has invested in two eight-station Quadient DS700s with three-way cameras enabling them to automatically collate, fold, insert, seal and count up to 7000 mail pieces per hour. Also purchased is a Böwe Systec Fusion Cross high speed inserter, which fills up to 24,000 envelopes per hour. These investments are in addition to those made in 2021.

Danny Cook, operations director at Go Inspire, commented, ‘We have a clear ambition to reach Net Zero and achieving EcoVadis Gold takes us one step closer. When combined with the ongoing investments in our systems and operations, we are making big strides to ensure we can become more sustainable.

‘The new equipment will make us more agile and enable us to improve our speed to market, while also reducing our energy usage and providing power savings. These are timely additions at a time of increasing energy bills for both businesses and consumers. Our ‘always-on’ marketing is now energy efficient.’

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This brings Go Inspire’s total investment this year to over £4 million, with almost £2 million dedicated to boosting its enclosing capacity, and over £2 million invested in upgrades to digital printing equipment. The Böwe Fusion Series accommodates a variety of envelope formats and complex enclosures, which can be handled ‘non-stop in an extremely stable and reliable production flow’.

The Fusion Speed is the first inserting machine of its kind in the UK and will allow the business to enclose a further 30,000 envelopes per hour. The machine has already been installed, and will be followed by the installation of a new Böwe Fusion-X to complement the existing two lines, adding a further 24,000 packs per hour to Go Inspire’s enclosing capacity. The Mail Consolidator is expected to be operational by the end of 2021.

Go Inspire Solutions managing director Nick Cole commented, ‘We’re delighted to be seeing consistent growth at Go Inspire but we want to be sure that we can reliably deliver for all of our clients, and keep up with the pace of their requirements. With this investment, we’re well placed to support our existing and new clients with their direct market and transactional communications needs, across a wide range of formats and enclosures.’

‘Transactional communications need to be intelligent, accurate and timely to get the message across, but also offer our clients efficiencies and economies. In addition, direct mail remains an excellent marketing channel and performs exceptionally well compared to other channels in generating incremental revenue for our clients. It’s a must for every marketer and we’re pleased to have increased our capacity in this area.’

Böwe’s Intralogistics division has also introduced Pouch Sorter system for providing automated access to single items for assembling multi-part orders in e-commerce and omni-channel retail. As well as paper, printed and personalised products, it can be used with flat or hanging garments by the overhead conveyor system, which minimises floorspace in packing and shipping areas.

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The Fusion Cross inserters enable MBA to process a range of different job specifications, thanks to the technology’s ability to handle a wide variety of formats, from DL to C5 and up to C4 flats at high speed. According to Böwe, ‘no other system is as flexible or handles such a wide spectrum of envelope formats and filling thicknesses, with speeds of up to 22,000 per hour’.

Tom Nangle, production director at MBA Group, said, ‘The significant investment on the three inserters has doubled the enclosing capacity of our Tottenham production facility. This requirement was driven by an increase in enclosing demand on the back of several new contract wins and a substantial upturn in DM sales.

‘We are delighted with how the new inserters have performed along with the training and support provided by Böwe Systec UK.’

Böwe Systec UK has also been awarded the maintenance contract for all mailing equipment at the MBA Tottenham site and will provide round-the-clock engineering support.

Andy Wain, UK sales director at Böwe Systec commented, ‘Böwe Systec has supplied equipment and technology including two mail sorters to the MBA Group since 2016. Working very closely with MBA and after much due diligence, we were delighted to take the order for three Fusion Cross market-leading inserting systems and in turn continue to build the relationship with MBA. As with all our customers our focus is to deliver best in class return on investment and vastly reduce the cost per mail piece across all applications.’

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As if we weren’t living our lives digitally enough before the Coronavirus reached our shores, the lockdown imposed from late March and only now being cautiously lifted has pushed everyone’s activity online, whether it’s business meetings by Zoom, Teams or Skype, shopping for everything bar locally-available necessities, teaching via Google Hangouts, family get-togethers via WhatsApp or quizzes and games on a host of platforms. More and more of life is being conducted via a screen of some kind and many of us go to bed these days quite square-eyed from too much screen time.

Marketers who espouse print were already warning of digital fatigue for years before this acceleration, with many critical of precise but meaningless ‘engagement’ figures from digital channels. Mike Hughes, managing director of Bristol-based Latcham Direct, comments, ‘The immediacy of digital solutions meant that it was inevitable and predictable that people would immediately move online during an event such as this one, but even before Covid-19 there was evidence that people experienced digital fatigue.

‘Printed products have a premium feel, and evoke other sensations and emotions that digital products are simply unable to do, especially the kind of premium printed products we are capable of creating. Keeping that blended approach can help our clients rise above the digital noise and stand out in an increasingly crowded digital space.’

Datagraphic staff with Hunkeler kit inline to the Xerox Trivor press

Mixed media

The point made repeatedly both by marketing agencies and by printers involved in the sector is that it’s not print or digital, it’s both. As well as being firmly endorsed by marketers who still see print as an essential channel, printers whose businesses have in the past principally relied on mailed products also see them as complementary. Rugby-based Datagraphic, a transactional mail specialist, offers both physical and digital ‘mailing’, both via its inhouse developed Aceni web-based software and through more conventional data transfer processes.

For Datagraphic, which managing director Glyn King says provides ‘no – zero – direct mail’ but prints and sends communications which are ‘expected and have consequences’, such as payslips, bank and pension statements, invoices and debt letters, the decision to go multi-channel was made a decade ago.

‘At the time it looked like a turkey voting for Christmas,’ recalls Mr King, ‘a printer advocating not printing, but now we turn over £14 million through organic growth and 25% of our revenues have no print component. We take clients on a ‘digital journey’, which can include print as well.’

The non-print part is provided by online portals where the recipients of transactional communications can log in to view messages, text messaging and secure email via Datagraphic’s own Aceni software. By volume, however, this represents about 10% of the business, with the rest being print. This puts some demands on the print side. ‘Maintaining capacity for print means constant investment, people get used to digital delivery speeds,’ he explains.

A long-standing Xerox house, Datagraphic has been through most generations of the US company’s technology, including Nuvera, iGen and more recently, Versant sheet-fed toner printers, as well as being the first in Europe to take a Rialto press in 2015. ‘Xerox’s inkjet technology gave us reel-to-sheet capability which enabled speed. Data received at 4pm can be delivered to mobile phones in 15 minutes, and print goes the same day into the postal system,’ says Mr King.

It’s the reel-to-sheet capability that’s key to the speed, the inkjet printing technology is incidental for Datagraphic, though Mr King acknowledges that it’s ‘lucky’ his clients are in the transactional space rather than promotional and so not so demanding of image quality. A second Rialto was bought in 2016, but the first one has now made way for a Trivor HD 2400 that was installed in September 2019, the sixteenth Xerox press the company had bought. It’s paired with a Hunkeler Series 8 paper handling and finishing line.

A Böwe Systec letter sorting line was installed last November, able to handle up to 46,500 letters per hour, but plans to add an enclosing line, also from Böwe, in March of this year, had to be put back because of Covid-19 site regulations. It’s now hoped that this installation will go ahead in late June or early July.

Datagraphic’s business is contract-based, with service level agreements (SLAs) forming a key part of contracts, so shutting up shop when the lockdown hit wasn’t an option. Mr King commented, ‘We produce and distribute critical multi-channel communications for key industries. Non-delivery has real consequences for people waiting on medical or payroll information, for example. So when Coronavirus started we had to channel all efforts on protecting our resources.

‘Thankfully, we have robust business continuity plans and our team have been incredible. Every day I see or hear someone in the business going above and beyond to meet SLAs for our clients. One client recently said he hadn’t thought about Datagraphic once during the pandemic, and it was like Covid-19 wasn’t happening, because the service was running business-as-usual.

‘Encouragingly we’ve welcomed some new clients during coronavirus. We’ve been helping people get important information sent out via our multi-channel platforms,’ he adds, commenting also on the role of supplier support during the period, ‘Xerox and Hunkeler support has not been affected during the crisis. We worried when it was reported Xerox had furloughed engineering staff but our worries were dealt with swiftly by Xerox and we have received fantastic support during a busy period.’

Roll-fed inkjet was also the choice at Leeds-based Mailing and Marketing Services (MaMs), who were the first UK site for Ricoh’s flagship VC70000 press first shown to the world at last year’s Hunkeler Innovationdays. Owner Anthony Krajniewski told Digital Printer that key factors in its selection were its fast make-ready and the ability to support offset paper types. Colour consistency and lack of banding were also factors. ‘Digital print brings value back in-house and adds flexibility in options,’ he adds.

Latcham Direct’s Mike Hughes with the Canon VarioPrint i300

That’s a wrap

A key strategic move for MaMs, which provides commercial direct mail print and mailing services for a range of clients from charities to the NHS to magazine publishers, is into paper wrapping of mail products, which as well as meeting environmental goals to move away from plastics, enables versioned or even fully personalised advertising on the wrapper as well. The Ricoh press is supported by Hunkeler paper handling and finishing equipment, while Stahl and MBO folders, a Bobst 2000 die cutter and CMC JWR wrapping lines can handle print from any source, though the die-cutter is inline to the VC70000; it can cut everything from window in envelopes to promotional bags, according to Mr Krajniewski.

The wrappers won’t initially be exclusively printed digitally – the company produces some 10 million mail packs a week and in early February was expecting to handle half a billion this year, utilising eight enclosing lines across its sites in Leeds and Wolverhampton, claimed to be the most in the world, for paper wrapping. It is still making the transition away from sheet-fed litho but Mr Krajniewski anticipates that more of its output will go all-digital as ink prices reduce. It’s possible that a second VC70000 might be added, though the impact of the Coronavirus has pushed those plans back.

The commissioning of the Ricoh press was also delayed by the onset of the Covid-19 restrictions but it went into operation in May, working on a limited range of substrates, as the on-site tweaking and training to reach the full capability hasn’t yet been possible. Managing director Danny Narey, who took up the post at the start of April, says, ‘Our clients haven’t been hit as badly as we thought; 80–82% of packs are still expected, though some sectors – travel and leisure – have fallen off a cliff, while

home shopping and crafting have rocketed. The content is welcomed, it’s a distraction. If there are swings and roundabout, the roundabouts have been quite good for us.’ He adds that although some 60% of staff had been furloughed, most were back by early June and all would be by early July. ‘We’re seeing recovery past the trough and starting to come out the other side; home shopping clothing has been much busier in the last two or three weeks,’ he says.

Another client sector that’s held up well is gaming. ‘The bingo/casino ‘clicks’ business is open, they’ve been mailing to encourage customers online,’ says Mr Narey, adding, ‘Digital print comes into play here, as they had to adjust the message and the copy, so flexibility was needed. We’re doing this both cut-sheet and about to go on the VC70000, using a 250gsm silk offset paper.’ MaMs also has a Xerox Iridesse sheet-fed toner press but doesn’t use it for its special colour or effects capabilities but more as a CMYK workhorse, handling a million pages a month, plus two Xerox Nuvera mono toner printers.

Mr Narey feels that Ricoh has cracked the inkjet goal of printing on offset paper with the VC70000. ‘It’s got the colour gamut, and proven that Fogra 54 can be matched or exceeded, though we’re not selling on that,’ he confirms. ‘The industry talks about litho replacement. Not us. We can tick the ‘prints as well as litho’ box, but we ask ‘what else?’ –seasonality, audience of one, fast turnaround?’

He echoes Mr Krajniewski’s comments on the control that digital print in-house brings. ‘It’s about data and control versioning, response codes, match mailing. Some customers just want footfall in stores but clothing companies do care about the source of leads, their demographics,’ he says.

‘There’s definitely e-fatigue. People enjoy the interaction with something physical, some post to open over muffins and marmalade. Touch and feel engenders trust. There’s also the idea that magazines help with mental health – and some evidence that porous materials [like paper] that wick water away from the surface dry and kill the virus,’ he adds.

Glyn King of Datagraphic

Sheet-fed solutions

At Latcham Direct, which has clients in utilities, healthcare, financial services, electoral services and membership, the choice was to go for the newly emerging category of sheet-fed inkjet with two Canon Océ VarioPrint i300s, the first installed in the summer of 2019 and the second at the beginning of this year, both supported by inline Hunkeler sheeting and feeding into offline Duplo iSaddle booklet makers and a fleet of BlueCrest/Pitney Bowes inserters.

Having come like MaMs from a toner technology background, Latcham felt that toner was becoming less

commercially competitive in terms of speed and costs to support work in high volume direct mail and transactional work. Investigations into inkjet alternatives led to the i300 when it was launched. ‘There were only a couple of other devices on the market at this time and we ran tests across all devices,’ says Latcham managing director Mike Hughes. ‘We reviewed the print sample tests and the quality was best in class. Whilst the device was considerably more expensive, it was more durable. The running costs and ROI modelling showed that overall it would meet the commercial and operational requirements.

‘Another consideration was sustainability, and the desire to move away from microplastic-based toner to water-based inks, which we could do with the i300. It also runs at decreased energy per page, contributing to our drive for more eco-friendly printing,’ he adds.

That said, toner does still have a role at Latcham, with Canon ImagePress C850 and C910 models with 1300mm long sheet options for higher quality graphic arts work. A Ricoh IP5000 inkjet is used for higher volume letters and forms, while the i300s are used for on-demand high quality and personalised print.

Although Covid-19 has had an impact, Latcham arrived at the start of the period with an ‘excellent’ year-on-year position and Mr Hughes reports that things have held up well in the circumstances, with volumes at 70% of normal, as much of the business is connected with the fulfilment of transactions, contracts, membership and policy documents.

With many people still largely at home, either working from there or furloughed, there’s perhaps never been a better time to mail them.

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The company said Ms Banton, who has previously served as its commercial director and general manager Ireland, ‘Will play a key role in meeting the company’s growth strategy particularly in the intralogistics market with full responsibility for the leadership and development of the Böwe Systec UK and Ireland business.’

Joachim Koschier, group managing director, thanked Mr Dugougeat for his achievements over the past four years, saying, ‘We are very pleased that his unique experience will be put to good use in his new capacity as executive vice president sales North America, ensuring full continuity in our customer relations. It gives me great pleasure to welcome Lisa into her new role and I am delighted she brings with her a wealth of experience and will work closely with the current management team in moving the company forward on its consistent path of profitable growth.’

Ms Banton added, ‘I am looking forward to taking on the role of managing director now responsible for not only Ireland but the UK business also. Böwe Systec is renowned for delivering value to customers through experience and industry knowledge, in fact we have worked with many of our customers in close partnership for decades. I am keen to continue the growth of our core business and develop our expertise in the intralogistics market.’

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The Rugby-based company, which installed a Xerox Trivor HD 2400 inkjet web press in September of last year, has said the investments are all part of its growth strategy, ensuring capacity is available for increasing volumes of same-day document processing.

The Böwe Systec letter sorter, installed at the start of November, can process up to 46,500 letters per hour to 128 sort bins, which have been set-up in a two-tier, two-sided configuration with integrated tray drawers.

‘Installing two significant pieces of equipment in the production centre in a matter of months has taken a real team effort and meticulous planning,’ said Datagraphic general manager, Sarah Butler. ‘Our customers trust us with time-critical financial, employee and healthcare communications which we often have to print and mail within hours of receiving the data. Expanding our mail sortation and consolidation capacity ensures we continue to meet demand and do it efficiently.’

‘We took the decision to work with Böwe Systec as researching the market they appeared to be the go-to provider of letter sortation in the UK,’ explained group managing director Glyn King. ‘They also demonstrated a depth of knowledge in mail consolidation and offered a package of on-site support and preventative maintenance, which is essential for time-critical operations like ours. The team at Böwe Systec in Derby specifically have worked closely with us to understand the way our business works and make the installation as seamless as possible.’

‘We are truly delighted to be working with Datagraphic and to be supporting them in the business transformation that is taking place,’ added Andy Wain, UK sales director at Böwe Systec. ‘Our clear focus at Böwe Systec is to deliver value to our customers through our experience and knowledge of the mailing market and not just to provide equipment solutions. This is what I believe makes us the only choice when it comes to supporting businesses with any mailing or parcel related challenges and opportunities they may have.’

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The company has restructured operations at the Stansted site around the high volume capabilities of the new press, which has a monthly duty cycle of 60 million pages. The investment is intended to bring higher volume to ProCo’s direct mail and related applications, currently served on the digital print side by a fleet of HP Indigo toner presses, mostly located at the company’s Sheffield site. It’s also possible that the inkjet will be used for book or catalogue printing.

‘This is massive for us,’ ProCo CEO Jon Bailey told Digital Printer, adding that since the installation of the press in June, ProCo has won new business and is ‘already averaging half a million pieces of personalised DM per day, volumes that we expect to continue to increase in the coming months.’

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