Kingston Carton expansion beats off competitors

Kingston Carton has made a £2 million capital investment in its Hull production facility to help meet the growing demands from businesses wanting high-quality printed cartons

The company, which manufactures printed and plain cartons for some of the UK's best known brands, has invested one and a half million pounds in a Roland 706 LV six-colour printing press with infra red and ultra violet ink curing coupled with a colour pilot system rarely seen on carton printing presses.

The additional machine will provide them with the ability to increase production capacity, and provide customers with added satisfaction of automatic colour control and the very best quality in a selection of coatings.

David Wilson, Kingston Carton's Chairman, said: "This significant investment forms part of the company's long-term strategy and complements our investment in new capital equipment over the last few years.

I am proud to be able to commit to this investment, particularly at a time when much of the carton industry is in decline, and it's great news for our employees and customers." Arend Buitendam, Kingston Carton's managing director, said: "We are experiencing good growth with a trend towards shorter production runs in the carton industry and the Roland's QuickChange facility allows us to move from one job to the next with minimal downtime.

Its increased production speeds, colour control and drying systems will not only enhance our production, but improve consistency in print quality.

This investment forms part of a long-term strategy to enhance and increase our production capability." "To aid this growth we have recently bought additional premises close to our existing facility at a cost in excess of £300,000, which will be used as further warehousing.

This will allow us to convert some of our existing warehouse to increase the size of our manufacturing facility and provide new employment opportunities in the future." A further investment of £200,000 is scheduled following the appointment of Steve Ticehurst as reprographics manager.

Steve will oversee the development of a new technical department that will bring all reprographic work in-house.

Steve commented: "Bringing all reprographic work in-house will allow us to maintain workflow and reduce unnecessary downtime on production equipment.

We will also be able to respond immediately to customers' requirements and offer a service that is second-to-none." Steve (41) has over 14 years experience in the print and packaging industry, and worked as a scanner operator, platemaker and studio manager before his final role of technical and pre-press manager at a print company prior to joining Kingston Carton.

David Wilson said: "Steve's role will allow us to provide customers with the very best in colour reprographic work.

Bringing this service in-house allows us to manage quality control more effectively and ensure that we maintain our excellent reputation for high customer service.

"The investment being committed to growing the business will continue to keep Kingston Carton at the top of the carton manufacturing industry.".

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