Hone-All Precision enters print and packaging industry following acquisition of component maker A T Roberts

Leighton Buzzard-based Hone-All has acquired two of three of A T Roberts' Watford-based divisions and, as part of the business purchase, has taken delivery of two specialised machines from them - a dynamic balancing machine and a straightening press. From a capacity perspective, Hone-All will be able to produce rollers, cylinders and tube products up to 300 mm diameter in lengths from 50 mm to over 4 m. This replicates the A T Roberts offer. The Leighton Buzzard deep hole boring and turning specialist has employed the expertise of A T Roberts' managing director, Nick Orford, on a 12-month contract. This, Hone-All says: "Will ensure a smooth transition, a transfer of customer knowledge, product expertise and a continuing commitment to excellence in the manufacturing of precision rollers and components for the existing customer base." Commenting on the transaction, Orford says: "The business sale has come around because I and a number of my key staff are at retirement age. With a decision made, the next step was to find a suitable company to purchase the business. We have been trading for over 100 years and have built excellent relationships and a reputation in the print and packaging industry, and we didn't want to desert these valued customers. "To this end, we have been using Hone-All as a trusted and highly reputable supplier for over 20 years, so we approached them and worked on a deal as their capabilities, capacity, expertise, quality and locality are aligned with our customers and would guarantee the continuation of our services." Hone-All director Andrea Rodney adds: "We are delighted with this exciting business opportunity. The British Print Organisation (BPIF) estimates that the print industry is the UK's fifth largest manufacturing sector with a value of £14.1 billion turnover a year. It employs over 130,000 staff in 10,000 companies. Based on these remarkable figures, we are delighted to have the opportunity to develop and grow an innovative product line that is essential to the print industry as it moves forward. "From a manufacturing perspective, each roller is either deep hole bored, honed and turned or, in the case of tubing, it is precision machined and despatched. Hone-All has spent the last 20 years producing the highest quality tubular type components for all industries in all materials, working to tenths of microns on challenging parts that often include thin-walled parts. So, we are looking forward to the challenge this acquisition will present. Furthermore, we will be looking to grow this side of the business in the coming year to complement our current services and to allow us to diversify into a new and extremely sizeable industry."