Finishing equipment manufacturer A B Graphic (ABG) is soon to move into new premises in Kelleythorpe, East Yorkshire, which will help the company move along its strategic growth path.
The purchase of the 40,000sqft-plus site was confirmed last year. Following extensive groundworks and remodelling, the site is shortly to become home to all of ABG’s CNC milling and machining centres, which are used to fabricate side and base plates and parts used for the construction of its finishing and converting lines. Coupled with upcoming investment in additional, automated machine centres, this will expand ABG’s in-house engineering capabilities and, in turn, allow the company’s existing site in nearby Carnaby to add build space, have more capacity to manufacture Digicon systems and the like, and ultimately speed up lead times.
ABG CEO Richard Knight presenting from the company’s soon-to-open Kelleythorpe location
The Kelleythorpe site will also become home to ABG’s revised Vectra turret rewinder portfolio. Introduced in the mid-1990s as a two-spindle system that used self-adhesive tape to adhere rewound labels to cores, the Vectra portfolio has been updated over the intervening years. This has included the introduction of hot melt glue for adhesion and the move to a four-spindle setup for non-stop rewinding, automatic core loading and label closure, and the more recent integration with ABG Connect to help facilitate the next generation of automated finishing. Vectra will undergo a further update at Labelexpo Europe 2023 when the next generation of highly automated turret rewinders will be formally introduced. These will be available as both hot melt glue – Vectra G – and glueless – Vectra – models.
Mercian Labels managing director Adrian Steele presented his company’s work with ABG and Cerm to automate finishing
Mercian Labels has a Vectra installed as part of its automated finishing setup, which it has developed in collaboration with ABG and MIS specialist Cerm. This was discussed by the printer’s managing director, Dr Adrian Steele, during a partner presentation session to open ABG’s recent automation open house. As well as turreting and a Digicon finishing line, this relies upon ABG Connect, a software platform to allow all the data and necessary information to be extracted, actioned and deployed at appropriate times and points throughout the process to move the industry closer to ‘lights out’ converting.
ABG Connect makes up one third of the new ABG Digital offer to the market. The ABG Digital business unit has been introduced with its own identity and team as the company looks at its ‘strategic direction of travel’, as noted by global sales director Matt Burton.
‘With the rise of digital embellishment, developments in laser die-cutting and introduction of ABG Connect, the language our customers and engineers are using has become very different. We’re not talking about using a flatbed foiling machine or setting up a flexo head, rather files, automation and workflows. This necessitates a different mindset and skillset. Therefore, we made a strategic decision to invest in a dedicated team, solely focused on our digital offering.’
Mr Burton continued, ‘This highlights our strategic direction of travel. We are an engineering company and will continue to sell nuts and bolts but want to make our equipment and customers more efficient by connecting these physical pieces of hardware into MIS systems and workflows.’
These developments, along with recent expansion of its footprint in Germany, North America and Latin America, see ABG, ‘transitioning into a mid-sized engineering company with a multinational presence,’ concluded Mr Burton. ‘This will allow us to better serve our markets and customers around the world, today and tomorrow.’
Read issue 3, 2023 for more from ABG’s automation open house and Mercian Labels and its work to make ‘lights out’ manufacturing work; register here to receive the magazine
