BACK FROM THE BRINK
Riley Dunn & Wilson fortunes take a dramatic turn for the better
With a pedigree dating back over 100 years, Riley Dunn & Wilson (www.rdw.co.uk) has a proud reputation as a specialist bookbinder which has survived a century of upheaval. In March 2007 it seemed that the story had finally reached its end when the Company called in the administrators and began laying off staff at its two factories in Falkirk and Huddersfield.
But, in May 2007 Charles Dunn, grandson of one of the founders and business partner Jeremy Mills , bought the Company and it assets from the administrators. Few gave the venture much hope of success, but in just under a year, Riley Dunn & Wilson is back in profit, taking on new staff and investing in equipment to seize on new opportunities. The Company has bought a new digital press to give it a printing capability for the first time, and the latest new arrival is a C.P. Bourg BB3002 single clamp perfect binder from UK supplier TCS (Terry Cooper Services).
“Although we still retain traditional craft bookbinding skills, we are modernising and taking the Company into new areas,” says Jeremy Mills. The Riley Dunn & Wilson business is built on short run hardback binding of various kinds, the core clients being libraries and academic institutions who need antique or out- of-print books preserving, or publications such as scientific journals bringing together in bound volumes. “Before, we could bind. Now we can design, typeset, print, bind, publish and market what we produce,” says Jeremy Mills.
Of the C.P.Bourg binder, Mr. Mills comments: “This is a state-of-the-art paperback binding machine, which opens up a new market for us. It’s ideal for use with the digital press where only a handful of copies are required, and although most would consider it a short run machine, for us, it means we can profitably go for much longer runs than we are used to. We were very impressed by the automated set-ups and the ease with which we were able to operate the machine without much experience – training only took a couple of hours and the interface on the touch screen panel is very intuitive. We looked at various binders but the C.P Bourg machine was better engineered, it also offered a better cover feeding system with options for winged books and is very easy to use.”
The transformation in fortunes at Riley Dunn & Wilson has involved decisive action in improving efficiency, cutting central overheads, shedding some unprofitable areas, as well as identifying new revenue streams. The Company’s Falkirk operation was relocated into a modern purpose designed factory and floorspace fell from 52,000 sq ft to 15,000sq ft but the 26,000 sq ft Huddersfield works was retained and business is growing rapidly. Overall, staffing levels fell from 138 to 57 under the old company, but now the new business is hiring again and the current staff numbers are up to 85 across the two sites. The Company is on course for a £2.4m turnover, and crucially is expected to turn a profit in the region of £200,000 after many years of losses. 
