Plockmatic has pledged to expand production of PUR perfect binders following the acquisition of Italian manufacturer KGS.
The sole outlet for these machines has been Morgana, the UK company that Plockmatic purchased three years ago. KGS first launched the perfect binder design five years ago and for the last two years Morgana has purchased the entire output of the factory at Mestrino.
It sells these as the Digibook series as 150, 200 and 450 cycles an hour machines using PUR adhesives from a closed tank design which avoids glue wastage.
Ray Hillhouse, Morgana VP sales and marketing, says: “We have been selling the KGS manufactured products for several years now and have seen the market grow significantly over that time.
“We have taken the total production from the factory for the last two years, selling PUR products throughout the world, and now need to increase production to meet the continually growing demand from new and expanding markets.
“Owning the company will allow our expertise in supply chain and production to help KGS grow, while simultaneously reducing costs. Savings will be directly passed on to our customers and dealers.”
The entry level DigiBook 150 copes with a spine from 1mm to 50mm and spine length from 110mm to 380mm. The top of the range DigiBook 450 is still a single clamp binder, extending the pine length to a maximum of 450mm and operating at 450 cycles an hour.
This speed crosses the divide between offset and digital work, exemplified by recent customer Colourgraphic Arts, Borden. The Hampshire company has both technologies and decided on the top of the range perfect binder to cope with the longer runs generated by the litho work.
The Digibook 200 is the most recent model, introduced at Ipex 2014, since becoming the choice for many print operations including traditional bookbinder Hollingworth & Moss, which selected the machine for its digital work.
While Morgana has not been specific about the product line up for Drupa, it will include the full range of creasing, booklet making and binding equipment on the Plockmatic stand in Hall 8. Plockmatic’s equipment is geared towards inline production, Morgana’s to near line operation.
Plockmatic CEO Jan Marstorp with KGS managing director Marco Tumaini as the Swedish manufacturer completes the deal with buy the Italian company to add to its Morgana operation.
