Westdale Printing Group, one of the most comprehensive and versatile printing services in the UK, has invested in a new Goss Purlux 1200 saddlestitcher at the drupa show in order to maintain maximum quality and service for its loyal customer base. The system will be installed following the show to support a Goss M-600 web press and two long perfectors at the company's facility in Cardiff.

The 12,000-books-per-hour saddlestitcher, which is being demonstrated at drupa, accommodates a wide variety of product formats and is specifically designed for the mid-range requirements of sheetfed and commercial web operations.

Alan Padbury, group managing director of Westdale, explains, "We frequently subcontract stitching work and, with increasingly quick turnarounds required, time lost in transporting adds unnecessary pressure. We prefer, wherever possible, to take control of all production processes in order to maintain maximum quality and service. By investing in the versatile Goss Purlux stitcher, we will now be able to gain more control while also reducing movement of work and the associated costs."

Westdale has a philosophy of investing to satisfy customer needs and exceed expectations, according to Padbury. The business is driven by demand for high-quality print and a flexible service that delivers on specification and on time. Running two long perfectors and, since 2007, a Goss M-600web press, the company generates a large volume of finishing work.

Padbury confirms, "It is our intention to increase business by 20 percent over the next three years so we need to ensure that we are working with good, reliable equipment. There were a number of options available to us but the Goss Purluxstitcher meets our requirements perfectly and allows us to extend our relationship with a supplier we trust," explains Padbury. "The extensive team of Goss engineers and electrical technicians based in the UK is an added reassurance for us. We are looking forward to a fresh approach to service and back-up which will help our business to grow."

It will also help us to decide for future investments as with three press lines we will need to replace a stitching line every few years."

The Goss Purlux 1200 saddlestitcher model delivers up to 12,000-books-per hour and is specifically designed for the product and productivity demands of mid-range finishing operations such as Westdale. Providing the versatility to produce magazine, tabloid and double-parallel products, it offers enhanced makeready capabilities in a small footprint. Key features include feed pocket sensors, long and skewed book detector, master caliper and missing stitch detector.

John Chambers, sales director UK and Ireland for Goss International, concludes, "We have had a long standing relationship with Westdale Printing Group, and I am delighted that they have given us the opportunity of working with them on this latest investment project. The Goss Purlux 1200 offers them a very versatile product that will enable them to maintain the high level of quality and service that its customers have come to expect."

Founded in 1984 in Cardiff, Westdale Printing Group started as a sheetfed printer and entered the web offset arena just three years later. Printing leaflets, brochures, reports, accounts, catalogs and prospectuses, Westdale has an extensive list of clients; the majority of which come from four sectors: government, mail order, publishing and tourism.