Long Perfector Press For Family Printing Firm

When it comes to family run businesses few could compete with Hastings Printing Company in the UK on sheer family strength.

When it comes to family run businesses few could compete with Hastings Printing Company in the UK on sheer family strength.

The St Leonards, East Sussex firm, headed by chairman Derek Knoll, has six close family members sharing its management and driving the company forward.

With 75-year-old Derek there is his daughter, managing director Alison Knoll, and her brother and sisters David, Lesley, Christine and Angela, each with their own department and specialisation, contributing to a 65-employee GBP4 million turnover enterprise that is about to make its biggest investment ever.

The investment is a top specification KBA Rapida 105 eight-unit 4/4 long perfecting press and is the latest model as launched at the last Drupa with fully automatic plate change, board printing system, Technotrans cooling and ACR-Control.

Out goes an elderly two-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster and a four colour Miller to make way for the new Rapida, which will arrive this month.

Alison Knoll has no doubt about what make Hastings Printing tick: "It is the family that is our best selling point.

People seem to like dealing with a member of the family and the personal attention each of us provides.

We have to invest to compete and stay ahead and we believe we have chosen correctly with an eight-unit KBA press.

KBA executive sales director, Mark Nixon, is full of praise for the Hastings Printing choice of machine: "Hastings Printing has made a sound decision in choosing a KBA long perfector - it is becoming the perfector of choice in the market.

They are a real family run operation not too dissimilar to KBA and, therefore, we are proud to supply them with a a new press.

Hastings Printing handles a mix of quality magazines and general jobbing.

A strong niche market is the regional theatre and some 25 per cent of the company's turnover is made up of theatre programmes, billboards and publicity leaflets.

The Hastings Printing customers are as long serving as the factory staff.

Many are in London or further afield and one very recent magazine order has been won from America.

The factory works a 24-hour six-day week and the company has been busy for several months forward selling the increased capacity, which will be provided by the new machine.

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