Hedgerow Print Forced To Move Premises To Keep Up With Success and Growing Demand

United Kingdom, Hedgerow Print Ltd. | Lithrone GL429

Under new leadership, Gary Radford bought Hedgerow Print and embarked on a sustained period of investments in the early 2000s, introducing the first 5-colour B2 press, a CTP system, and introduced digital print for the first time.

Hedgerow Print outgrew its premises at a rapid pace, and an additional unit was purchased down the road to ease the pressure. With two separate units, operations quickly revealed their own set of problems, and the need for a new premise became inevitable. Three years ago, the search for a new unit that suits the needs of Hedgerow Print started. After securing the new premises, it prompted the upgrade of a new press.

Hedgerow Print services the needs of businesses across the South West, predominantly the commercial printing sector. With a defined name in booklets, brochures, business cards and banners and other consumer and business products, Hedgerow Print is following the trend in packaging printing. With the strategically located factory, Hedgerow Print is surrounded by great food producers in the South West, and a sharp increase in the volume of food-related print and packaging jobs are being produced lately.

According to Radford, ‘The business continued to grow over this six-year period, and when the time came to move factories we knew we wanted to stick with Komori. We made some tentative enquiries to Komori about the possibility of buying new machines and we received a very enthusiastic response.’

When asked about considering other printing press manufacturers, Radford wholeheartedly replied ‘When reviewing the specifications of the latest Komori models, we could see that there have been made a lot of improvements. Any niggles we had with our old press had been addressed and we did not feel the need to look beyond them.’ 

The installation of the new Komori Lithrone GL429 went smoothly, and Hedgerow Print was able to keep printing on the old presses until they were ready to switch to their new equipment with very little downtime. Following the installation, a Komori demonstrator stayed at Hedgerow Print for 3 weeks, to ensure that consistent quality and productivity is maintained. Servicing a wide range of clients ensures work varies dramatically. From regular print runs of just 100-200 copies to jobs that run up to 150,000. Hedgerow Print is able to hit their sweet spot at jobs from 5,000 to 20,000 copies.

‘We are using the Agfa press tune software to ensure we are compliant with the latest ISO colour standards, Komori ensured us this was integrated seamlessly into our press operation. We are consistently hitting the standards effortlessly on every job, and the Komori GL429 has enabled us to have complete confidence in our products, and our minders can have real pride in what they are producing every single day.’

The move into the new site has given Hedgerow Print a boost and opened the eyes of their existing customers and those of businesses currently not familiar with them about the variety of qualitative products and services are on offer. Hedgerow Print operates with a heavy focus on relationship building, investing in customers and their business needs that offers personalized help and solutions, and creates a tight bond.