Investment caps off a record year for TCL
A packaging film company based in Shropshire has made a fresh six-figure investment in company machinery after sales smashed the £10 million barrier for the first time.
TCL Packaging has installed and commissioned a new Laminastar 4 solvent-free laminator from a French manufacturer at its premises in Telford, at a cost of 200,00 euros (£150,000).
The investment, after the installation of another 150,000 (£113,000) slitter rewinder in the latter part of last year, will allow the company to increase its supply of packaging films.
In the final part of 2014, TCL saw "unprecedented" demand for printed and laminated packaging films across the industry, as typical seasonal demands were expanded significantly by late requests for new films to meet a labelling deadline for the European food information regulations (FIR).
"The new laminator could not begin working soon enough for our production team who have been working around-the-clock and in shifts over the Christmas and New Year break to meet demand," said production manager Dean Langford.
"It has also freed up our three flexographic presses to focus fully on print production rather than supporting with coatings and treatments."
TCL increased sales by 10 per cent last year, and exceeded a turnover of £10 million for the first time in the full year to September 2014.
Managing director Mike Golding said he would be "disappointed if this same growth level was not achieved in 2015", as TCL continues a pattern of double digit growth which it has experienced throughout the economic downturn.
TCL was launched in 1999, and was bought out by management in 2012. Last year it moved to a factory in Stafford Park in Telford which was two-and-a-half times bigger than its former home in Hortonwood.
