Retail packaging printer Wilkins Group has invested £2.5M in a brand-new Komori Lithrone GLX40 carton press.

The seven-colour, B1 machine, which has replaced an older six-colour Komori press, was installed in November. 

The six-colour was sold to a dealer, meaning Wilkins will maintain a stable of four Komori presses.

Capable of printing up to 18,000sph, the GLX40 has boosted Wilkins’ production capacity by around 20-30%, according to production director Bryan O’Dowd.

He told Printweek that adding an additional unit had served the company well.

He said: “It gives us a hell of a lot of flexibility.

“Customers are forever looking to expand on their designs - and we thought [the GLX40] had the best flexibility for us.”

Configured with two varnish units, Wilkins has been able to to turn around a greater variety of finishes for its customers – largely food producers and supermarket chains – as demand grows for varied styles.

The firm finished the final phase of its Nottingham site’s £5.2m expansion project in December, with world champion boxer Carl Froch cutting the ribbon.

By expanding the site by 4,650 sqm to more than 20,000 sqm, the company has poised itself for growth, according to O’Dowd.

He said: “We’re feeling excited and looking forward to the future. The expansion is going to really start setting us up for increasing our turnover. It’s going to be an exciting year, despite what we read in the news; it’s going to be good for the Wilkins Group.”