It was a satisfying moment of completion for John George when he cut the tape on the opening of a new 8,000sq ft building at label printing specialists Sessions of York.

Mr George, a former director of the Huntington factory and founder of the firm's machine-making division in 1960, planned its new fully equipped building but retired before the investment of more than £500,000 was completed by York builders William Birch.

So he was invited back by chairman and managing director Mark Sessions to do the honours.

The machine division building, designed by Acomb architects WR Dunn & Company, is separated from the label and Ebor Press divisions on the five-acre site where nearly 200 people work.

It will give the engineers and others who produce tailor-made labelling machines half as much space to respond efficiently to what Mr Sessions says is a growing demand, with as many as 40 customers being attended to.

He said: "We are benefiting from the fact that industry is seeking to apply labels accurately and at high speeds, using automated processes that reduce packaging costs."

The new building is part of an ongoing investment programme which recently saw the installation of a £600,000 seven-colour label press in the label division. At the opening ceremony, Mr Sessions reminded staff that in the early days of the machine division, products made were mechanical and ponderously slow. Nowadays they are all electronic, computer-based high-tech creations, some of them applying labels at a blurringly fast 20 per second.

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