The incident affected one of the two adjacent facilities at the Bredbury site, with the second facility, which housed the main production assets, unaffected by the fire. Due to the severity of the fire, the business said the cause “may not be determined in any short timeframe” and that investigations are still ongoing.

The business reportedly achieved 99.6% OTIF (on time in full) performance to customers in the first week of its recovery, with the notable support of its key partners SGS and Waldo.

“Clearly the fire was a massive shock to the business, but I couldn’t be prouder of the team in their commitment to recover, build and move forward. Everyone has been astonished at the rate we returned to trading,” said Contact Originators group chief executive Steve Mulcahy.

“Despite the gravity of the situation, within 24 hours we had re-established our studio and administration functions, relocated whatever residual equipment we could, and started production back up.”

He added: “We have retained approximately 60% of our platemaking production at our Bredbury site and the remainder is being produced by plate production partners, whose support has been fantastic.

“All our plate cutting, mounting and quality control operations have been retained on site, meaning that we have been able to continue to supply our customers with the quality and service they expect from Team Contact so thankfully it is very much business as usual.”

He said that the insurance and legal side of the situation would take some time to resolve but that, thanks to the firm’s comprehensive disaster recovery and business continuity procedures, the insurance company had been “extremely supportive and complimentary” about its return to operation.

“While the details are worked out, we are seeking new premises to take the business forward, as well as developing our investment plans for the latest innovations in production equipment,” said Mulcahy.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their offers of help. From machinery to computer equipment, offers of loans and temporary premises, the outpouring of support has been overwhelming and testament to the fantastic nature of the flexo industry. Thank you from everyone at Contact who are now ready to begin our rebuild.”

Contact Originators focuses on the corrugated and flexible packaging sectors. More than 50 staff work at Bredbury while a number of implants are also operated by the business across the UK.