Folio Print Finishing is moving into case binding, following the liquidation of UK Bookbinders last month.
The Bristol trade finishing specialist has acquired machinery and some people from the Weston Super Mare business which called in liquidators from Begbies Traynor on 19 February, owing more than £400,000. UK Bookbinders claimed to have more sewn section capacity that any other finishing house and had set up a short running book binding operation to complement its long run binding facilities. It ran 16- and 12-station Muller Martini PUR binders and a 12-station thread sewing line supported by a Kolbus DA260 case maker and Kolbus BF511 casing inline.
It is this case binding capacity that attracted the attention of Folio. It had previously put case binding out to UK Bookbinders. Now it has taken on equipment to bring this in-house, says commercial director Andy Down.
“We will be able to feed case binding from April,” he says. “We are moving things around in the factory as we have purchased a lot of kit that was at UK Bookbinders. We have previously had sewing and case making. Now we’ll be able to do everything.” Folio had previously had the ability to produce cases, but not the means to marry these with book blocks. That now changes as the additional equipment is moving into
Bristol Bespoke Boxes, the sister company making corrugated boxes has moved to its own unit, freeing up further floor space to accommodate the incoming equipment.
“We have also been able to take on some of the staff,” he adds. “It’s good to be able to retain their jobs and bring them on board.”
Folio created the box making business to enable it to match the size of the box to the product being delivered without there being excess space in a box and also enabling more boxes to be loaded to a pallet. What began as an internal service has expanded into a full trade service and standalone business.
Bristol Bespoke Packaging has now moved a few minutes way, space in the Avonmouth factory has been created for the next expansion.
