Little more than a year after an MBO at Medica Packaging, the Crewe business has taken delivery of its most powerful B1 press to date. A Komori GX40 has arrived at the company, led by Gerard Harford and Mark Stokes as managing and finance director respectively, continuing a long standing relationship with the Japanese press supplier.
Harford and Stokes took control of the business in December 2020 with the backing of Harwood Capital. That has paved the way for the investment. The press has six print units followed by coating and including the full range of colour and quality inspection systems.
It runs at 18,000sph with the ability to monitor what is printed against the customer pass sheet.
This is crucial in the pharmaceutical sector where any inaccuracy can cause problems down the line and risks the loss of a customer. The company has been involved in producing secondary packaging for antiviral and vaccine products, “responded with agility, flexibility and speed to ensure production was maintained, providing a safe working environment for employees and changing working practices and the way we interact with our customers,” the company says in its annual report for the year to May 2021. None of its staff was placed in furlough, though those that did not need to be in the factory switched to work from home.
It maintained sales during the Covid year of £16.8 million (£16.5 million) with a pretax profit of £1.24 million (£656,000).
At the same time, Medication Packaging Holdco, the owner of Medica, has acquired Curtis Packaging, a £12 million sales carton converter with a focus on cosmetics and beauty markets. The company is located in a new factory in Redhill and is headed by James Williams, managing director, Ben Curtis, commercial director and Steve Mallett as sales director. There are no changes planned though Harford and Stokes join the Curtis board.
“This acquisition is complimentary to the Medica business,” says Harford. “The larger group will give both businesses a stronger market presence and there are opportunities to learn from each others strengths.”
Curtis moved to the 1,800m2 Redhill plant five years ago and at the same time installed a five-colour Speedmaster XL75 with coater alongside a six-colour Speedmaster CX102. It has subsequently installed a Kama ProCut 76 Foil, Bobst Novacut platen and Autobond laminator.
As well as work linked to the pandemic, Medica Packaging produces cartons, leaflets and booklets to other business in healthcare, pharmaceutical and the vaping market. “I am delighted with our new investment as I truly believe it will take Medica Packaging to the next level with higher levels of productivity, enhanced inline quality inspection and a more sustainable footprint,” says Harford.
He has been managing director of the business since 2016. And at the time of the MBO last year welcomed the backing of Harwood Private Equity as a group with the “financial strength and depth to allow Medica to continue to grow and meet the ever demanding needs or our customers”. The long term goal was to double the size of the business.
Komori UK managing director Steve Turner says: “We have enjoyed a very successful relationship over many years, and are delighted Medica has chosen this highly specified press, which will add dynamic production, quality, and environmental benefits to the business. We also very much admire their strong focus on sustainable packaging solutions within the supply chain.”
