The beginning of the year has been extremely busy for Label Apeel as the label printing company has moved a new factory, installed a new HP Indigo WS6800 and even launched a new website.
Label Apeel has moved to a new premises northeast of Leicester city centre. The new Thurmaston factory, known as Bo House, covers 36,000 square feet and is also home to a new HP Indigo WS6800 digital label press. A team of over 40 employees helped to transfer the contents from the old site in Braunstone to the new factory on Pinfold Road. Local businesses Fusion Electrical and Central Flooring Supplies also played a big part in helping the team move.
‘It was never going to be easy moving presses that weigh over 3 tonnes, but we got past them with a grin,’ explained owner Stuart Kellock. ‘Our main aim was to make sure the move didn’t impact on customers. With expert planning on our part, the labels kept printing and every deadline was met. To the outside world it was business as usual, while internally there was the odd moment of Chuckle Brother hilarity. The new factory means that every part of the business is now on one floor, which will improve efficiency and productivity. Making it a great deal easier than being spread over four floors like at the Braunstone site, which was our home for over 18 years.’
Despite the upheaval of the move, the company clocked up a 20% increase in sales in the first quarter of 2015. It also saw an increase in staff engagement of 30%, which was recognised at the inaugural Employee Engagement Awards -handed out in late January this year – where Label Apeel was awarded Highly Commended in The Wellness Category. With the increased capacity, the company is also looking to expand the team and will be adding four new positions in the very near future.
But that’s not all
The company is one of the first label printers in the UK to install the WS6800. Mr Kellock explained the reasoning for the investment, ‘In a nutshell, all other digital printers rely on densitometry, which is a measurement of grey scales to achieve colour matching, whereas the WS6800 is based on spectrophotometry, which is a measurement of colour wavelength and a far more accurate method of measuring colour. Previously the machine made a best stab and then the operator would tweek offline, now the machine is constantly checking the colour matches the original copy.’
He continued, ‘The WS6800 makes it easier to control colour consistency and we now are one of the few printers in the UK who can guarantee colour consistency on a digital press. Previously, we achieved this consistency through hard work and significant time, now we are able to achieve the same amazing results with significant time and cost efficiencies.’
March also saw the launch of a redesigned company website that had been under development for several months. Here the company displays some of the labels it has produced and the services it provides. Along with news, it also features a new blog entitled ‘Ask the Label Geeks’ where visitors to the site can ask any label related question, be it on design, marketing, production or print. There is also a Wall of Inspiration and a guest blog – the most recent one written by DL&P technical editor and print expert Sean Smyth – a Label of the Month blog and one on the charitable events employees get involved with, along with the history of the company.
But the company is not one to rest on its laurels and there are more plans in the pipeline, hints Mr Kellock. ‘We’re in a strong position and long may it continue. Amy Chambers and the team are doing a sterling job, meaning that I’m now focused on launching another business to compliment the already excellent creative services of Label Apeel. So watch this space,’ he concluded.
