Signage and display specialist Signs & Labels Hereford has invested in a new Vivid VeloBlade Nexus 2516 cutting table supplied via Soyang, and plans to use the machine to expand its business into new and profitable markets.
Offering signage, print and vehicle graphics, the family-run business has been trading for over 23 years, the last 16 of which have seen it using the same manual cutter for its large format work. Growth in business led to a need for a more up-to-date replacement that could both run faster and which would offer a degree of automation.
Researching the options quickly led to Vivid’s VeloBlade Nexus 2516, a 2.5 x 1.6m digital cutting table distributed by Soyang. Director Ross Hughes recalled, ‘I had seen the machine a lot on LinkedIn and always thought it looked like the ideal piece of kit for our business. Once I started looking and spoke to Vivid’s Lewis Evans, the price point for the specification stood out from other machines and further solidified my interest in the machine.
‘After speaking to Lewis during an online demo and at the showroom, I was really impressed by the customer service and attention to detail in making everything as straightforward as possible for their customers. We placed the order within days of seeing the machine at the showroom.’
The purchase was made in December 2023, and the machine was installed at the company’s Hereford site in early January 2024. Mr Hughes said despite the cutter having only been in place a short time, the business has already seen a significant improvement in production.
‘The VeloBlade is already making production faster. The automation of barcode reading means there are fewer touch points. Also, as it is so simple to use, we have been able to train up numerous members of staff on the machine; we don’t have to wait for specific team members to become available to operate it.’
Looking ahead, Mr Hughes is confident that the Nexus will allow the company to expand its offering and move into new markets, with bespoke packaging as one area of interest.
