Montgomery Re-equips Acquired Norwich Union Inplant |
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| 12.08.2005 |
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The Montgomery Group has bought the Norwich Union printing inplant, transferred its 41 staff to a new 24,000 sq ft leasehold site in Perth and installed two Printmasters, a PM 74-4 Ecocolor alcohol-free press and a PM 52-5. A Stitchmaster ST 400 six-station saddle-stitcher with cover feeder will follow in the next month.
The purchase of the inplant which includes a five year multi-million pound print contract gives the Montgomery Group a base on which to build its financial printing work. The company has a first year sales target of £3m.
Group managing director Tommy Montgomery says: “The purchase of this inplant lets us work more in the financial sector. We had done a similar buyout with Scottish Legal Life but that was a smaller inplant. Norwich Union had two two-colour MOs with 200 million and 300 million impressions on so this was no small scale inplant. It produces business cards, stationery through to advertising literature and policyholders’ brochures.”
The PM 74 and PM 52 replace one two-colour MO and one GTO-2 but the company retains one of two single-colour TOKs.
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The PM 74-4 Ecocolor was selected because of its ability to cut out IPA which has both environmental and cost advantages and running without alcohol also gives brilliant quality results. It comes with automation options, including an Online kit for JDF connectivity. The group as a whole is moving rapidly towards fully integrated workflow for all areas of production.
“Scotprint, one of our group companies is ISO 14001 environmentally accredited and we hope to extend that across the group. I personally do feel there’s a need to do whatever we can on the green side. We attempted to run without alcohol an an MO six or seven years and did quite well with it. The Ecocolor was nine years in development and one of the designers was part of the installation team here,” says Mr Montgomery.
The PM 52-5 is unusual in having two sisters operating it on alternate shifts. One of them had run the MO and may assist on the PM 74 as well in future. The fifth unit is primarily for sealing to get the very fast turnrounds expected in this market.
The ST 400 saddle-stitcher replaces a Muller Martini 321. “We have been close to buying Stitchmasters before. I was keen to try out something new and the JDF factor was important in our decision. The ST 400 will extend the type of work the plant can do with its ability to run larger formats and larger runs,” says Mr Montgomery.
The company is also taking on a thermal CtP unit but just what it is depends on a potential shift of systems within the group when a new Suprasetter is installed at Digital Imaging.
There is a degree of inter-company trading within the group. It represents about £2m of the group’s £20m turnover but each plant has to ensure its priority is making itself profitable and focusing on its core business.
“I feel the industry has gone through the hardest time it can over the last four or five years, the hardest I have known in my 30 years in the business, but I think it’s on the way back probably in the next 12 months or soon after,” says Mr Montgomery.
August 2005
For further information please contact:
Diana Thompson, Plus Point PR Ltd, on 01494-817178
Or
Irene Duffy, Heidelberg UK, on 020 8490 3500
Or
Tommy Montgomery, Montgomery Group, on 01620-828800.
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