Autobond targets German market with distributor Binderhaus

Finishing equipment manufacturer Autobond has appointed agent Binderhaus to represent the company in Germany.

Autobond appointed the distributor following strong interest at Drupa that has filled the manufacturer’s order book until near the end of 2012.

Binderhaus approached Autobond at Drupa with the intention of selling its machines in Germany. Previously, Autobond sold its machines to the German market directly but knew that having a local distributor on board would benefit the company.

The distributor has an existing customer base of over 800 across Germany, serviced by four maintenance engineers.

Autobond managing director John Gilmore said: "The strong interest from German customers at Drupa this year reaffirms there is a huge market for our machines there.

"Germany is a very important market for us and I just clicked with Michael [Jellinghaus, of Binderhaus], he is an honest bloke and lovely guy to work with."

Jellinghaus expects strong demand for Autobond products from printers looking to bring post-press work in-house, a trend that Gilmore has noticed across the globe.

Gilmore said that the company were "really winning" amongst customers who were realising the savings to be made in bringing lamination in-house after realising their high expenditure on outsourcing.

Autobond is currently shipping its first machine sold through Binderhaus, a 52 SUV spot UV inkjet machine, one of four products launched at Drupa, to Dresden-based web-to-print company United Print.

The printer had not previously offered spot UV as it was too expensive to outsource for its predominantly short-run jobs.

Gilmore said: "Most our machines sales worldwide are through local distributors who speak the language. The growth in demand for our machinery in Germany means that it is crucial for us and the end user to have local support."