Benson Group Gateshead Invests in Faster Finishing

November 2011

Benson Group Gateshead, the North East based printed carton production site, has announced details regarding the recent installation of a new Bobst ExpertCut 106PER for faster, more productive post-press carton production. The arrival of this new finishing line represents a further six figure investment at the plant - one of two Benson Group factories in the North East.

The factories are focused on the production of cardboard packaging for food products, as typically found on the shelves of all of the major UK supermarkets. This latest investment in state-of-the-art post-press equipment plays a vital part in the conversion of high quality printed board into the finished pack by accurately cutting the final shape of the carton, including "windows" where appropriate.

Commenting on this latest investment in new equipment at the Benson Group Gateshead site, Andrew Pybus, General Manager of the company's Newburn and Gateshead facilities, said: "Installing the ExpertCut was one of a series of key investments made this year by Benson Group to avoid bottlenecks at the gluing and cutting stages of the process. By upgrading this equipment the focus is on making the post-press element of production as efficient as the factory's print operation.

"The product has already provided us with a significant improvement on throughput. Even on difficult to run boards, it still delivers 9,000 sheets per hour. It is performing even better than we had anticipated.

"It is Benson Group policy to invest in only the best quality machinery as we firmly believe that this, combined with our highly trained workforce, produces the very best in cartons for both the food and pharmaceutical industries."

About Benson Group
Benson Group is one of the UK's leading privately owned printed carton suppliers, producing packaging products for both the food and pharmaceutical industries for a wide range of UK and European customers.

The business manufactures packaging products in four production sites covering in excess of 400,000 sq ft. Benson Group achieves annual sales in excess of £110 million. Food manufacturers are the main customers at Bardon and for the company's two North East facilities in Newcastle and Gateshead. The fourth site in Crewe serves pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. In recent years, investment in new plant and equipment across the four sites totals in excess of £25 million.

Benson Group creates packaging for many well-known companies, brands and retailers. Key account clients across the Group include Northern Foods, Reckitt Benkiser, Greencore and Samworth Brothers. The company is an approved supplier for all of the UK's leading retail chains. Food and pharmaceutical packaging is exported to customers in countries throughout Europe.

For further information on the Benson Group visit the www.bensongroup.co.uk web site.

Press Information

For further information on Benson Group, its operations, or on packaging products or packaging issues please contact:

Russell J Hicks

Genesis Marketing Services (Milton Keynes)
101 Hesketh Road,
Yardley Gobion,
Northamptonshire NN12 7TX
Tel/Fax: 01908 54 33 58
Mobile: 07885 852 428
e-mail: Russ.Hicks@Genesis-Marketing.com
Web: http://genesisnews.wordpress.com/