Thames Card Technology drives automation with two MBO machines

Print Solutions

Rayleigh based card manufacturing, personalisation and fulfilment operation Thames Card Technology has invested in two MBO T460 compact buckle folding machines in a push to increase its automation.

The two new machines, supplied by Friedheim International, were installed at the company’s premises at the end of November. The new MBO machines are being used as automatic paper cutting and handling lines to process print such as letters and inserts coming off its upgraded Xerox printing equipment as part of the automation drive and to cut turnaround times. Also, due to the small footprint of the two folders, valuable space will be freed up at the premises.

Ché Colford, operations director, said: ‘We have looked at our whole paper printing platform. We have a mix of continuous and cut-sheet printing which needed consolidation. We have a lot of double handling at the moment and we wanted to increase the speed and flexibility of what we can do and also our capacity, especially with the growth in the loyalty market.

‘Importantly, reducing the handling of the product enables us to deliver a better service to our customers and the ability to capitalise on the different market opportunities that are out there.’

Simon Cox, sales specialist for Friedheim, said: ‘When I first started talking to Thames Card Technology and they told me everything was going to be sheetfed and what sort of work they needed to produce I knew automatically what machines they needed. Our folders are perfect for what they need to do, they are quick compact and most importantly reliable. They will eat up any work that comes off the Xerox Press Streamlining their whole operation from flat sheet to finish size much quicker than before.

‘I visited the site two days after installation and everyone involved was extremely happy with the outcome.”

Earlier this year the company increased its personalisation capacity by 60% after investing in a raft of new kit including two Atlantic Zeiser Persomaster machines, three Entrust Datacard MX6100 card issuance systems and an AutoFeeds Cartan card system encapsulation machine. It has spent well over £2 million on new machinery so far in 2017.