During the pandemic, manufacturers of equipment have been under pressure to reduce stock levels of parts & spares for their older equipment, often leaving end users with reduced levels of support. Some manufacturers have taken the decision that they will no longer provide service or parts for equipment long since out of production. Some specialist parts such as electrical control boards can no longer for found or are uneconomic to repair.

We are pleased to announce that Swedish Company Rudholm Group has just added another brand-new Focus LX printing press to its print facility which produces labels for the retail and garments sectors.

During the pandemic, manufacturers of equipment have been under pressure to reduce stock levels of parts & spares for their older equipment, often leaving end users with reduced levels of support. Some manufacturers have taken the decision that they will no longer provide service or parts for equipment long since out of production. Some specialist parts such as electrical control boards can no longer be found or are uneconomic to repair.

Yorkshire based label printer, Arc Labels has installed an AccurioLabel 230 digital toner press, manufactured by Konica Minolta and sold through Focus Label Machinery Ltd. The new press will complement existing Focus flexo presses and Newfoil hot foil presses in order to enable the company to provide a broader range of labels, from low volumes to high volumes – across a wide range of market sectors and applications.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a disruptive force for supply chains the world over and has compounded many issues that were simmering below the surface. The weaknesses of the predominant supply chain models before the pandemic – notably ‘just in time’ and ‘lean manufacturing’ – which depended on extended supply chains, tight delivery windows, and minimal stock holdings, were laid bare by worldwide parts and labour shortages, and spiralling transport costs.

The pandemic revealed a pressing need for greater scalability and flexibility among many UK label printing businesses. Fortunately, the digital printing and finishing technology already exists to allow businesses to scale production to changing market needs while keeping production costs low, and to facilitate rapid growth when required.