Acorn Press has wasted no time in organising production following its acquisition of MPD in Swindon.
The two factories will continue under the existing names, but production will be optimised to prevent duplication and unnecessary cost. Litho printing will be concentrated at the current Acorn Press site in the Westmead area of the Wiltshire town. There is currently a six-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster XL106 in operation with room for a B2 press alongside. This will be a newer B2 model the company says which can exploit the line up of finishing equipment in the factory. MPD currently runs a B2 Komori.
This factory will also house some small and large format digital printing. Offices and prepress will be housed on this site. MPD retains its name and factory and will be home to label printing and cartons as well as vehicle graphics, garment printing and the screen printing equipment comprising its Advanced Printing Services arm.
A Dantex digital label press will be moved to the Rivermead factory where the plan is to install a second digital press before the end of the year. The factories are only hundreds of metres apart.
Acorn has recently acquired a new DTF inkjet printer from InkTec. The 60cm wide machine comes with powder and shaker unit. Group managing director Simon Evers says: “In the last three years, we have expanded to offer a myriad of different printing services for our customers. Including POS, exhibition and events, labelling, mailing distribution services and digital print. Opening up this portfolio of printing services has further led us to creating a division focused on screen printing and DTF – primarily for corporate wear.”
This is not the end of the investment programme. MPD has operated a Xerox iGen which is to be replaced in the very near future.
As regards the acquisition of MPD, Evers says: “We have been looking to grow the Acorn business for some time. For is it was more about finding the right company so that each business complimented one another. The initial discussion took place several months ago and because the fit and timing felt right for both companies, we wanted to conclude discussions as soon as possible.”
MPD managing director Victor Hopkinson becomes director alongside Evers. Highly experienced Paul Shellard is sales account manager.
Further acquisitions are not ruled out, though there is nothing planned. The business, with sales of £10 million, had acquired Another Perfect Delivery to boost in-house mailing in 2022 followed by Advanced Printing Services to diversify into vehicle graphics and garment printing, earlier this year.
