St Albans - Curtis Packaging has installed a new Zünd S3 M1200 digital cutting table in a purpose-built area of its new 20,000sq ft premises in Redhill – a move from a smaller factory in Wimbledon that has cost a total of £1.3 million including new equipment. 

The cosmetic and beauty packaging specialist decided to move its HQ from a 1930s-built building to a space around 25 miles away which could be re-designed to meet its needs, from lighting to layout – including a new mezzanine level for the Zünd S3 table.

James Williams, who has been Managing Director of Curtis Packaging for ten years and has two decades' experience in the printing sector, explains that he visited the Zünd UK stand at Packaging Innovations in London in September, where his company was also exhibiting, to chat to the team about the planned investment and expansion.

"I had seen the larger Zünd machines including the new double-beamed Zünd D3 at Drupa earlier in the year, but at Packaging Innovations I was also able to see the Zünd S3 in action," he says. "We only needed a digital cutting table big enough to meet our needs and the S3 does everything we need it to. We actually always aspired to a Zünd so we're happy to have the opportunity to invest in one as part of our move."??Curtis Packaging creates high-quality packaging mock-ups for beauty and cosmetics brands and so intended to upgrade its existing plotting table to one that could handle finer work, including intricate, delicate cut-outs on small cartons. 

Moreover, the business was looking for a supplier that could provide reliable service and support. James Williams continues: "We'd heard positive feedback about Zünd machines' build quality and reliability but also its support packages. Sometimes things do go wrong and it matters how fast you get that support; it's something we had struggled with for the previous 18 months so it was important."

The Zünd S3 M1200 demonstrated at Packaging Innovations was installed at Curtis Packaging's new Redhill site to fit in with the move.

"Zünd was very accommodating," explains Williams. "We had to build a new mezzanine floor to house the Zünd S3 and only had a small window of opportunity to install the machine before partitions were built around it. It went in seamlessly and everyone's been delighted with it since its installation."

Peter Giddings, Sales Director, Zünd Plotting Systems (UK) Ltd, comments: "We wish Curtis Packaging the best of luck with its new premises, which along with the new Zünd S3 M1200 and other equipment will enable the company to refine its innovative packaging designs even further.

"The Zünd S3 has a modular design which can be easily upgraded or modified in the future to ensure the user always has the ideal machine to meet its needs. Our team at St Albans will always be on hand to assist Curtis Packaging with its development."

On the business's plans for 2017, James Williams concludes: "The market has high expectations for high quality. Curtis Packaging has a reputation for doing the difficult work, the smaller runs. We don't want to build an empire; we know our market and with the larger premises and investment in new equipment we simply intend to continue to keep our customers happy."