Market expansion beckons after £230k Investment at Letts Diaries

11/7/2011 10:14 AM EST

Press Release 7th November 2011

Market expansion beckons after £230k Investment at Letts Diaries

Letts, the UK market leader of branded diaries, has recently purchased three new pieces of equipment to upgrade and expand their digital printing and manufacturing capabilities at their site in Dalkeith.

Letts decided to move into UV printing technology with a capital investment of £70,000 for the purchase of a HP Scitex FB500 UV printer. A further £160,000 was invested in a Peroni Ruggero AGD-EI/A Elastic Enclosure Machine and a SCS Automaberg Corner Master Round Corner Crushing Machine. The investment follows the increasing demand to fulfill customer production requirements, in terms of the flexibility of products and delivery time, by bringing manufacture back to the UK from the Far East.

Charles Letts, Sales and Marketing Director at Letts explains, “The decision to invest in all three state-of-the-art pieces of kit was to enhance the capabilities we already have in the UK, lowering the dependency on Far East manufacture, whilst maintaining the uncompromising customer service that has positioned us as market leader for over two centuries. It also stabilizes employment in for our workforce in Dalkeith”.

“The HP Scitex FB500 UV Printer has many advantages in comparison to the standard Litho Printers and digital presses we currently use. By broadening our digital offering, we now have the ability to print on almost any substrate, meaning design issues due to print limitations should be eliminated”.

He continues, “Recent trends in fashion have shown that customers are almost expecting elastic enclosures and round cornered cases on their products and for Letts to achieve this standard, the only option was to produce in the Far East. This, inevitably had issues in terms of producing finished products on time alongside the increasing cost from Far East suppliers. However, since the new, cost effective machines have now been developed the productivity and sheer speed of the machines give Letts an obvious competitive advantage over our major competitors who still need to manufacture in the Far East.”

“This provides a platform for Letts to attract new customers and products, open up new markets and be able to compete more effectively in our industry”.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Letts – The Diary Experts
The company was established in 1796 as a stationery business in the arcades of London's Royal Exchange where merchants and traders frequently purchased stationery. John Letts responded to his customers’ need to record transactions and finances by creating the world’s first commercial diary in 1812.

The diary soon established itself as an essential feature of commercial life. The rapid refinement of the product, with the introduction of detailed information sections, meant that by the 1820's the first modern style diary ranges were published.

Letts is a world leader in its field. Letts manufacture over 22 million diaries in its UK manufacturing facility each year and its products are of the highest quality and design. The company is firmly established as the market leader supplying more than 40% of all branded diaries in the UK and exporting to over 75 countries worldwide.

Letts acquired the Filofax Group to become the Letts Filofax Group Ltd in 2001 and comprises principally of two UK operations and eight overseas subsidiaries.

Letts is an environmentally aware company which strives to minimise its impact on the environment by promoting environmental awareness to their stakeholders and by sourcing from suppliers who are FSC or PEFC certified wherever possible. Staff are also continually trained in environmental issues to ensure ongoing social and environmental responsibility.

Diary sizes:
Slim size – 166x82mm
A6 size = 148x105mm
A6 + Desk = 165x120mm
A5 size = 210x148mm


Further details, product photography and samples available on request from Caroline Graham at Denvir:

T: 01786 435 183
E:  
W: www.denvirmarketing.com