Loading
ar ch de en es fr hi
it ja nl pl pt ru th
tr

When the INKISH team arrived at Windles Group in Thame this morning, I was honestly full of anticipation. We knew we would see a new, VERY well-equipped Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 press - and that was pretty much it. Oh, that is not entirely true. I checked their website before visiting Bruce Podmore and his Windles Group, so had my memory been better, I would have remembered that Windles Group is a premier supplier of greeting cards in the UK - so here we are!


Windles Group is located in Thame, about an hour from Heathrow Airport and 40 minutes by car to Oxford. The small city is lovely, and as I said to my colleagues this morning, It's almost like time traveling. Old houses, low ceilings, maybe not the fanciest, yet good food, and a tempo that is more human. I even passed a flyer at the reception promoting Midsomer Murders - a TV series I still enjoy watching with my son, Mads. Less than five minutes drive from the hotel, we find an industrial area, where we find Windles Group. A modern building, but looks friendly and welcoming - so after meeting with Paula Smidt, we are guided directly to the production, and you immediately realize that it's busy times. When entering the production, the first thing you notice is, of course, the 7-color Heidelberg machine, with a cold-foiling unit, the breakdown of the fundament, where another Heidelberg machine used to print greeting cards, and next to it - the brand new Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106. The rest of the production hall is filled with BOBST die-cutters, hot-stamping machines, and gluers. Also, quite a few unusual machines for enveloping, special packing, a re-purposed GTO used for dusting, and some Horizon equipment for binding and trimming - to ensure we cover as much as possible.

Click on photos for larger editions :-)

We are here because a collaboration between Windles, Koenig & Bauer, and AMS Spectral UV has led to a rather interesting printing press capable of quite a lot. It is new, so training was ongoing as we were visiting Windles. This means the press wasn't running at full capacity, but it gave some great examples of what it could do. Almost instant simultaneous plate change, automatic color setup, and three types of UV - from Mercury UV to LED-UV - and one, I honestly can't remember - all enabling Windless to produce what customers require fast and efficiently. Looking at some of the applications (see photos), you soon realize what Windles makes and how complex many jobs are. Though the company has been (and is) a Heidelberg site, the change to Koenig & Bauer is highly anticipated. When I spoke to Bruce Podmore after we had interviewed his son, Miles Podmore, he couldn't keep his excitement inside himself and was overwhelmingly positive about the investment. The fast setup time, the drying capabilities, the quality, and the diversity of options, led to the investment.

Miles Podmore, head of the operation, finished his engineering studies and joined the company less than two years ago. His interest in technology and engineering greatly benefited him and the company when investing.

Koenig and Bauer are, of course, also very pleased with the investment - not only because it is replacing a competitor but also because the technology in the new RAPIDA 106 is seen as superior and, therefore, also giving Windles a competitive edge.

The greeting cards Windles Group specializes in are nice - they include so much technology that it's not a wonder this is a specialized niche. To mention a few of the things Windles are capable of: Print (digital and analog), embossing, debossing, hot- and cold foil, spot varnish, dusting, die-cutting, packing, enveloping, laminating - and on the more conventional commercial side glue-binding of books, and boxes - so a truly diverse company, where the 100+ people deliver some of the nicest and prettiest looking print you can imagine.

Craftsmanship excellence is the two words I would like to end this article with. When we are ready, Check out the film, and learn about Koenig & Bauer, AMS Spectral UV, and how great people and leaders make it all possible. I am SUPER happy to have been with Windles Group, as they are also SUPER lovely people!

Enjoy!

Proofed (Human)

Click here to Generate Audio

Author: Morten B. Reitoft
Add/View comments for this article →


Comments
user

Cookies collect information from your web browser to provide a better online experience. In inkish.news we use cookies. If you continue browsing we understand that you accept our cookies.