Reflex Group (‘Reflex’), the leading packaging and label printing company operating 25 sites across 6 countries, has now installed 53 finishing machines from Bradford, UK-based Bar Graphic Machinery (‘BGM’) with the latest installation of a BGM Elite Dieflex at its Leicester site in the last month.

Manufacturing for a wide range of markets including beers, wines & spirits, health & beauty, pharmaceuticals and food, Reflex is a key strategic customer of BGM, specialists in the design and manufacture of high-quality narrow web and flexible packaging finishing equipment for the global label and flexible packaging industries.

Ian Bates, Business Unit Director at Reflex, has been working with BGM to ensure the right solutions are designed and installed to meet the exacting needs of the high-growth business. “What has so impressed me with the BGM team is the personal touch they bring to doing business. They are open and transparent, their service is second to none, and the support is first-class. It is literally like dealing with a family and we really appreciate that. We’re a big business but they’ve never given us any reason to go anywhere else because of the machine build quality and reliability, as well as the way they support us,” he says.

Annemarie Rhodes, Managing Director at BGM, comments, “We’ve been working with Reflex Group since 2007 and have a very special relationship – it’s a fantastic team to work with. We work hard to understand their key needs and supply both our standard and bespoke finishing solutions to ensure they maximise their quality, efficiency and productivity at all times.”

Ian adds “We go to BGM with a challenge, or a problem, and they’ve been able to select or design a high-performance machine that works to meet our needs. They’ve developed a great range of machines and solutions specifically for our business. That’s a huge benefit.

“The build quality and robustness are excellent but importantly, they’re not just ‘yes men’. If they don’t think something is right, they’ll say it. They don’t sell a machine for the sake of a sale. They’re open and honest and if they can create efficiencies for us by looking at an issue in a different way, they will do.

“For example, they’ve put flexo stations on some of the BGM EcoFlexes for us to enable us to remove printed label work off our 10-colour presses giving us extra capacity and flexibility when we need it. They look at things practically and advise us where needed rather than just offering standard equipment and us having to work out the solution.”

Reflex is an expanding business growing through acquisition over the years. With 11 label production sites across the UK and Ireland alone, the business requires supply partners that understand the nature of the label industry, its needs today and into the future. Ian concluded: “At Reflex, our leadership team is empowered to make decisions, to invest for the future and is trusted to take us forward. Having a partner like BGM is key to us being able to make good decisions and future-proof what we’re doing. BGM is part of my team now. Their attention to detail and support is fantastic and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to printers, large or small.”