Finishing & Screen Printing

Autobond Starts 2011 with Major International Orders

Friday 18. February 2011 - Autobond has started 2011 with a string of orders from around the world, including one for a Mini 36 TP laminator with inline Mini 36 SUV inkjet variable spot UV varnish, a post press technology breakthrough that Autobond announced to great acclaim last year, plus an order for two machines - a laminator and a UV coater - from a printer in Peru who has never seen an Autobond laminator.

“The order from Peru is for a Mini 76 TH and a Mini 76 UVH, the latter being a UV roller coating machine with a Heidelberg Speedmaster feed head,” says managing director John Gilmore. “But we previously had no contact whatsoever with this printer – they’ve never seen an Autobond representative, not even seen a sheet laminated on an Autobond machine! Apparently, this customer had contact with a printer in the USA that operates Autobond laminators, and his recommendation was sufficient to give them confidence in the brand.”
Since the New Year Autobond has won orders for Mini 76 TH models from companies in Angola and Lebanon, while a printer in Dubai has chosen a Mini 105 TPHS and one in Saudi Arabia a Mini 76 T.
Two laminators left the Derbyshire factory over the Christmas break bound for Melbourne, Australia, and there are three other laminators currently being built that are destined for that country, including Autobond’s first sale to the state of Tasmania. Also leaving the factory over Christmas was a Mini 36 T laminator for the USA. The latter, along with the UK, continue to be important markets.
“At the end of 2010 we installed a Mini 76 T at a printer in Ireland, three laminators in Iran, and three in France. Even companies operating in countries that have been hit severely by the recession have invested in Autobond – in March we are installing a Mini 105 THS, one of our largest models, at a printer in Athens, Greece. It seems that during a recession printing companies take a look at their out-work expenditure and try to bring everything in-house.
“We’ve had a huge amount of interest in the spot UV varnish technology that we announced last year. The first order for the new line has already been placed by a printer in the USA – that machine is currently undergoing final trials at the Derbyshire factory – while a second order, placed this week, has come from a UK printer.”