Rapidity has moved back into its Goswell Road premises having completed a refurbishment of the site. As well as a complete upgrade of lifting and insulation, the business has brought in four Xerox Iridesse six-colour presses and a SwissQPrint Nyala flatbed and a pair of Canon Colorados, amounting to a £3 million vote of confidence in its business. Energy consumption has been cut by 60% compared to levels prior to the decision to upgrade. It has also installed a single clamp Horizon BQ280 perfect binder to join a Matrix laminator and VeloBlade cutting table with Vivid’s taping head. A Canon ImagePrograf 6100 completes the spend.
That decision has meant Rapidity stepping away from its site at Foots Cray on the edge of London, which housed a B2 Indigo, in favour of a focus on central London and a rapid response to a broad sweep of customers.
The company had been all set for a major investment in its premises at the end of March 2020, but put these plans on hold as the pandemic upset its plans and trading levels. “We put off the refurbishment until trading started to pick up,” says managing director Paul Manning.
Most of the work was complete in September, but busy trading levels since then meant that the finishing touches have only just been completed. The company has owned the 1,250m2 premises since 1990, a time when the Goswell and surrounding Clerkenwell district was filled with printers, trade typesetters, trade platemakers and so on. All have now vanished – except Rapidity.
It is already making a virtue of its presence with a one-minute delivery (by electric van) for a number of the customers.
“There are other printers than us in central London, but also a lot less than there used to be even five years ago,” says Manning. “That’s an opportunity for us.”
The nature of the business is changing too, away from simple print, fold and stitch towards shorter run but value added work such as pitches, high impact retail exploiting the potential of fluorescent pink on both toner and inkjet presses.
