UK laminating machine manufacturer Autobond celebrated earlier this month its most successful week since the company was formed in 1978, after winning orders from eight different countries over a seven day period. These include the first of the recently redesigned B1 landscape Mini laminators, a Mini 105 TPH, which has been purchased by a UK printer in Bristol, plus the first sale via the Heidelberg distributor in Italy, Macchingraf, for a Mini 105 THS FL. This laminator is destined for a printer in the Naples area.
The second Autobond purchase in more than 20 years by a company in Indonesia has come from a finishing house in Jakarta, for a Mini 105 TPHS, while orders have also arrived from new customers in Denmark, Wales, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and South Africa.
“Some sales take a long time to come to fruition,” says Autobond managing director John Gilmore. “As a young salesman in 1978 I demonstrated a hand-fed, hand-sheeted water-based Autobond laminator to Gareth Jones, the managing director of magazine printer Stephens & George in Methyr Tydfil, South Wales. His son Andrew, group managing director, has just placed the company’s first order with us, for a Mini 76 THS.”
The Mini 76 THS destined for Stephens & George is a single-sided thermal laminator equipped with a rising pile, back separation Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 feed head and stacker pile delivery. Production speeds can be up to 60 metres per minute. The Mini 76 THS can handle print from SRA4 up to B1 and from 90 gsm to 650 gsm in weight. In 2010 Autobond launched a redesigned range of Mini laminators that incorporate the feeder, laminator and sheeter within one side plate, which has reduced the footprint even further. The Mini 76 THS has a footprint of only 2.5m x 1.5m.
“We were spending around £100,000 annually on trade laminating but because of the volatility of the UK finishing sector we decided to install our own laminator,” says Andrew Jones. “There is no doubt in my mind that Autobond’s sheet-fed laminators provide the best value for money in the industry, with a longevity that is unrivalled.”
