Signing for the new press at Drupa, Remous will replace a ten-year-old four-colour Heidelberg XL 75 LE-UV with coater, brought across in the group’s late January purchase of Wincanton Digital Print; and Remous’ own five-colour Komori H-UV press, which is coming up to five years old.
Centralising litho production to one site within the group – Remous’ Sherbourne site – and cutting the excess power and plates required by multiple B2 printers, Remous will be able to hit both commercial and packaging jobs faster and more efficiently.
Alan Bunter, Remous managing director, told Printweek that the doubled format of the SRA1 GL-537+C will help the firm beat its competition following its arrival in December 2024.
“It’s a big leap forward,” he said.
“There’s not many SRA1 presses in our area; certainly not many SRA1 Komoris. The leap up to be able to do 16-page A4 sections is quite important to us, and it moves us into some of the longer-run work that we sometimes find challenging to get through a B2 press on time.”
While Remous will keep on all its staff, the group will be able to achieve “quite a big saving” by selling off its two B2 platesetters and cutting overheads from maintenance contracts and energy bills.
The group’s commercial work will now largely run through Sherbourne, with digital and finishing work taking place in Wincanton; it plays part of a strategy to reorganise the group’s working processes following its two purchases – Wincanton Digital Print and Wells Printing – earlier in the year.
“The likelihood is that we’ll be more packaging focused [at Sherbourne], and then the other side will be more focused on commercial finishing and digital,” Bunter said.
The choice to buy Komori was a simple one, he added.
“I know and trust what they do – we’ve worked with them for 15 years, and they’re good to work with. When they say something will work, it works,” he said.
The wide gamut of H-UV finishing was particularly attractive, as Remous regularly uses Pantone shades with coatings, which, Bunter said, is more difficult to achieve with LED curing.
“It gives you a wider colour gamut, and helps give decorative print finishing to a higher standard,” he said.
The acquisitions have helped Remous become a one-stop shop, with the company bringing in numerous services over the past few years – though Bunter was cautious about making predictions of where it might go next.
“Who knows where the economy is going to go, and where the industry will go,” he said.
“From our perspective, we’re looking to consolidate what we’re doing, continue to output good quality work.
“I like the fact we’re bringing everything in-house: for packaging, we can design a box, design the artwork, print it, embellish it, foil it, die-cut it, crash-lock it, glue it, warehouse and distribute it.
“Being able to run the entire job for a client is proving quite interesting for smaller clients: they want companies they can trust and build a working relationship with.
“There are always other things to think about – but we’re thinking about incremental steps.”
Remous Group employs just under 40.
