Manchester based signage business Elite Sign Solutions (ESS) recently invested in a VeloBlade Nexus 3032 large format digital die-cutting machine from Soyang Europe to increase finishing capacity, remove production bottlenecks and support its expansion into new markets.

Established in 2009, ESS designs, manufactures and installs signage for customers across the UK, serving a diverse range of sectors including commercial, construction, education, healthcare and retail. Its extensive portfolio spans illuminated signage, built-up letters, wayfinding, wall and vehicle graphics, exhibition displays and bespoke display solutions.



The company was dealt a huge blow in March 2020 when its facility was devastated by the Morton Mill fire, with the company losing its premises, machinery, equipment and stock in the process. The timing made an already difficult situation even more challenging, as the fire occurred at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when restrictions made viewing potential new premises, machinery demonstrations and installations extremely difficult.

ESS also missed out on the surge in demand for products such as protective screens, social distancing graphics and other Covid related signage, as the loss of all of its production machinery left the company unable to take on the work. However, Director Thomas Swales and his team remained determined to rebuild the business and move forward.

After securing a new facility, the company began the process of investing in print hardware to ensure it could once again deliver the wide range of signage services that had made it so successful prior to the fire. First came a new laser cutter, AXYZ CNC router and two Roland printers, followed by a Canon Arizona 480 XT in 2021, a Mimaki JFX200-2513EX in 2024, and then further investment in 2025 and 2026, including several finishing solutions from Vivid Laminating Technologies.

Recovery and growth

Today, ESS has done more than recover; the team has rebuilt and grown the business to the point where further investment in machinery was needed to strengthen production capacity and ensure it could continue delivering high quality work to customers.

“The result of all our investment was that our printing capacity had increased enormously, but it also highlighted the next area we needed to address – finishing,” Thomas said. “That ultimately led us to Soyang and the new VeloBlade machine.”

ESS was first introduced to VeloBlade technology by Damien Martin, Sales Manager at Soyang, following its purchase of a Mimaki UCJV330 from the company. Damien initially offered ESS a VeloBlade machine that Soyang had been using for demonstrations at its facility. When the machine was subsequently sold to another customer, Damien introduced Thomas and the ESS team to Lewis Evans, Director at Vivid. This led to a relationship between the two companies and, ultimately, to ESS investing in its own VeloBlade system.

Installed at the end of June this year, the VeloBlade Nexus 3032 features a cutting area measuring 3,000 x 3,200mm and can handle a wide range of materials up to 25mm thick, including Dibond, MDF and acrylic. It combines CNC routing with cutting, creasing and perforating in a single pass, while features including an automatic tool changer, automatic cut depth setting and cutting speeds of up to 1,500mm/s are designed to maximise efficiency.

“We had spent several years increasing our print capacity and had reached a point where we could produce work faster than we could efficiently finish it,” Thomas said. “Our VeloBlade Volta 9060+ had been an excellent investment and was still performing extremely well, but the volume and physical size of the work we were producing had increased. We didn’t want our investment in faster and wider printers to be restricted by the next stage of production.

“The Nexus 3032 gives us a much larger finishing platform, and the capacity required to complement the rest of our production equipment. Rather than replacing the Volta, the Nexus has expanded our overall finishing capability and allowed the Volta to continue doing the work it is ideally suited to.”

Entering new markets

Although the new VeloBlade has only been in place for a few months, its impact is already being felt across ESS’s production operation.

“The speed, size, automation and versatility have transformed our finishing workflow,” Thomas said. “It has removed a significant bottleneck and given us the capacity to take much greater advantage of the print equipment we’ve invested in. But what has probably impressed us most is that it hasn’t just made existing work quicker, it has also allowed us to offer products we couldn’t realistically manufacture before.”

Since the investment, Thomas said ESS has been able to move further into the sustainable display and exhibition market. He explained that the new VeloBlade machine enables the company to accurately cut and crease honeycomb cardboard, thus allowing it to manufacture lightweight, recyclable display structures and three dimensional products.

“Within the first month of having the machine, we were able to design, manufacture and supply a complete exhibition stand made from honeycomb cardboard for a client,” he said. “That is a product we simply wouldn’t have been able to offer before. The VeloBlade isn’t just allowing us to manufacture the same products faster; it’s expanding what we can produce and creating entirely new opportunities for the business.”

Planning for the future

Looking ahead, Thomas said the company plans to build on its early success in sustainable displays and further expand in this area, including honeycomb cardboard displays, exhibition products and other recyclable alternatives to traditional materials. ESS is also keen to further develop its capabilities in short run print, packaging, labels and bespoke products, with further investment likely to follow as these opportunities develop.

“A major part of our strategy is looking at the products we currently outsource, opportunities we previously couldn’t pursue and asking whether we can manufacture them ourselves,” he said. “The more we can control under one roof, the more control we have over quality, turnaround times and customer service.

“Our philosophy has always been to reinvest in the business. Every machine has been purchased as part of a long term strategy to improve efficiency, expand our capabilities, manufacture more products in-house and provide our customers with a wider range of services, faster lead times and the highest possible quality.”

Thomas concluded by paying tribute to the service Soyang provided throughout the purchase not only of the new VeloBlade machine, but also its earlier investment in the Mimaki UCJV330 print and cut machine installed last year.

“Damien at Soyang has been great to work with, and he has always been approachable and helpful when discussing machinery and our plans for the business,” Thomas said. “For us, relationships with suppliers are important. We’re not simply looking to purchase a piece of machinery. We’re looking for companies and people we can work with as our requirements develop, and the business continues to grow.”

www.soyang.co.uk

Image shows Thomas Swales, Director of Elite Sign Solutions (ESS), alongside the new VeloBlade Nexus 3032