Finishing Solutions
Bridging the Glasgow-Edinburgh divide, two trade finishers have signed a joint venture that will enhance business for both. ACA will pass saddlestitching, binding and pharmaceutical folding work to Taskforce in future, while Taskforce will place work with ACA that needs enhancing services including UV varnishing and foiling.
Dara Changizi, director of ACA in Glasgow, said: ‘During the pandemic, ACA has moved further into the packaging sector and invested in die cutting, die making and folder-gluing. We still have a strong base of commercial printers working with us and we will continue to offer many specialist finishes, not least laminating, coating and varnishing, embossing and debossing and Wire-O binding. However, it makes sense for us to use Taskforce for the stitching and binding work. We are just 60 miles apart and, with our own fleet of vehicles, we can collect or deliver quickly and speedily.’
Alex Porteous, managing director of Taskforce, said: ‘We heard that ACA was selling a binding line and so it made sense to talk. In fact, we had recently bought a 12 station Muller Martini Pantera which has quick set up, is compact and can change easily from hot melt to PUR. The surprise for us and ACA is that we haven’t talked before this; it is a very good fit.’
Both companies remain entirely independent and are finding trade bouncing back after the Covid lockdowns. There is no transfer of equipment or thought of a buyout.
ACA was founded in the 1980s but it was only five years ago that it was the subject of a £6.5 million management buyout, backed by Royal Bank of Scotland. This has brought new vision and an emphasis on investment in equipment, people and service.
Taskforce was set up in 1990 with three staff when it discovered a gap in trade finishing services in Edinburgh. Today it employs 28 staff. It offers machine and hand finishing services as well as mailing and distribution.
Both companies agree that each will ultimately be responsible to their customers to ensure the quality and delivery is right. Their customers will gain from a wider portfolio of services but no change in established communications and service levels.
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