Wrigle Print: Melco EMT16 Plus from Amaya
Scott Wrigley, managing director, and member of the Guild of Master Craftsmen
Tell us a bit about your business
We’re a full-colour print and embroidery company specialising in workwear, schoolwear and sportswear. We’re now coming up to our sixth year of trading. We won a number of new contracts around the same time this year, including three schools and two football clubs (one being Notts County women’s and girls’ teams), which led to us expanding our portfolio of machinery. With the extra machinery and rapid growth in stock, our premises were bursting at the seams so, in September, we relocated to a building that would accommodate all of our needs.
What’s the latest embroidery machine you’ve bought?
We’ve added another Melco EMT16 Plus to our embroidery arm of the business. It was a no brainer for us to choose this machine as we already have Melcos in operation and have been very happy with the performance and quality. Going down this route is a natural progression for us as we can link machines from the software to run multiples and it also gives us the option to run separate jobs on each machine. We are already looking at adding another one or two more to help with the workload.
What other machines, if any, did you look at before purchasing this one?
We’ve been very happy with the performance of the Melco brand of embroidery machines and didn’t even think about looking at other brands. Another big plus for us is the friendly tech support from Amaya. They continue to be great every time we need them.
Why did you choose this specific make and model?
For us, the big plus point is that the Melcos can run in unison on bigger runs, and we can also run each head separately if needed. The quality of the embroidery and the speed at which we can run the machines are also important.
Is there anything you’d like to see in an upgrade or don’t like about it?
I’d love to see an upgrade that eliminates thread breaks! It would also be great if they could make them lighter as we had to lift ours up a flight of stairs when we relocated in September.
What’s it like to use? Do you have any tips on how to get the most out of it?
We hit the ground running with our first Melco and this one hasn’t disappointed. Before we moved into embroidery, I came from a print background of over 20 years. It was a smooth transition from the first time I operated one – it’s simple to run and reliable, and I think this made it easier for us.
What type of work is it used for?
We use our Melcos on all types of work, everything from small runs through to workwear, football kits and now schoolwear. We’ve been putting a lot of schoolwear through the machines over the last few months.
What other machines do you have?
As well as our Melco embroidery machines, we have a Mimaki cut-and- plot machine, an Oki A3 ProWT, an array of sublimation machines, a fleet of digital printers – from Xerox to Lexmark – Stahls’ Hotronix and Adkins heat presses. We also run the latest Cloud software and are predominantly Mac-based. We’re now looking at adding a new bit of kit for banner printing this year.
What would be your advice to others thinking of buying an embroidery machine?
My advice to anyone wanting to venture into embroidery would be to look around and see what machine best fits your needs and budget. Support and aftercare is another important factor. A good combination of both is vital. For us it was only natural to go down the Melco route with Amaya, as we have a good working relationship with them and they have been steadfast with their support and vast trade knowledge. Their experience and understanding of our company’s growth has been a key part to our expansion in new kit and new revenue.
