The UK-based finishing manufacturer sold £220,000’s worth of kit to Peruvian firm Finishing SAC, including a Mini 76 TH laminator and a 76 RUV roller-coater.
“We realised the market lacked a number of basic finishing services for printing and identified this as a growth area,” said Finishing SAC general manager Jose Trillo. “We needed equipment to increase production and contacted Autobond.”
Autobond managing director John Gilmore said: “We are keen to make further progress in the fast-emerging South America market. Finishing SAC is showing just how profitable added-value work can be.”
The sale is Autobond’s second in Peru and the manufacturer is also in talks with a Brazilian company.
“When you see sheets running at 15,000 an hour – that’s what sells the machine, you don’t even need a voiceover,” he said of his company’s videos, which are posted on the Autobond website. “Some companies buy without a demo.”
“Around 35 years ago, I’d hitch a trailer to my car, jump in the driving seat and shoot off to Dover or Aberdeen to do a demonstration and not get home until midnight. After a few years, I heard about video and had a film made.”
Today Gilmore equips his installation engineers with high-definition cameras to record kit in operation, leading to sales in Moscow (a 105 TPHS) and Lagos (a 74 TPHS) each worth around £150,000.
Autobond also sold a £35,000 Micro 52 TP in Guadeloupe in the Caribbean, and a £25,000 Mini 52 T to a company in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.
Gilmore said: “It doesn’t matter if you run a shoe shop or a restaurant; if you make lovely things, customers will beat a path to your door.”