Sell your machine or get a price valuation

BPG (Book Printing Group) USA, one of North America's leading book manufacturing service providers, partnered with allaoui to modernize its entire postpress department at its Berryville, Virginia facility. By replacing a sprawling mix of 13 production lines with seven precisely selected machines — three Kolbus BF 530 hardcover lines, three Müller Martini Bolero perfect binders, and one Kolbus KM 610 — the plant achieved what few consolidations deliver: fewer lines, higher capacity, and better productivity all at once.

The Berryville Graphics facility has been a cornerstone of American book manufacturing since 1956, operating out of a 325,000-square-foot plant in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Today it forms the production heart of BPG USA, itself part of Bertelsmann Marketing Services — Europe's market leader in offset and gravure printing, with annual revenues exceeding €1.7 billion. Across its US locations, BPG USA employs more than 1,400 people, running fiction and non-fiction book production around the clock in 12-hour shifts for publishers across the country. Berryville is where hardcover and softcover titles come to life at scale.

A patchwork of 13 lines under pressure

Meeting that scale had long depended on a postpress department built up over decades rather than designed from scratch. Thirteen lines kept production moving: five casemaking lines, four book block preparation lines, and four perfect binders. The diversity of equipment that had accumulated over the years created complexity at every level — maintenance schedules, spare parts logistics, operator training, and production planning all multiplied with each additional machine type. As run lengths shortened and turnaround expectations tightened, the inefficiencies of a fragmented machine park became harder to absorb. Something had to change.

A partnership built on proven results

The relationship between BPG USA and allaoui had started years earlier, when allaoui sourced and installed a near-new Kolbus BF 530 at Berryville — a machine that had logged just two million books with its previous German owner and arrived in showroom condition. The project, from dismantling in Germany through installation and production support in Virginia, was completed to the full satisfaction of the BPG USA team. That track record mattered when the time came to tackle something far more ambitious.

When BPG USA decided to modernize the entire postpress department, allaoui took on the full scope: defining the target machine models, sourcing them on the global used equipment market, and managing every step from disassembly through commissioning. The selection criteria were exacting — machines had to represent the current state of the art, fit the specific production profile of the Berryville facility, and be available in the required quality. allaoui identified and delivered on all counts.

Seven lines. Higher capacity. Better productivity.

The results speak for themselves. Three Kolbus BF 530 hardcover production lines — among the fastest of their class at up to 70 cycles per minute — replaced the previous five casemaking lines and four book block preparation lines entirely. Three Müller Martini Bolero perfect binders and one Kolbus KM 610 took over from four aging adhesive binders, bringing greater speed, consistency, and reduced setup times to softcover production.

The arithmetic is striking: 13 lines became 7, yet output and capacity increased. Beyond the production gains, BPG USA now operates a significantly more homogeneous machine park. Fewer equipment types means simplified maintenance, streamlined spare parts management, reduced training requirements, and greater operational resilience — all critical for a facility running non-stop, every day of the year.

Investing in what's next

BPG USA has committed roughly $60 million to equipment and facility upgrades at Berryville in recent years, a sign of long-term confidence in the plant and its workforce. The postpress modernization fits squarely within that strategy — not a stopgap, but a deliberate reset of the department's technological foundation. With allaoui as the partner responsible for sourcing, refurbishing, and commissioning the full lineup, the project delivered on its ambitions without disrupting the plant's demanding production schedule.