BeginningOn the 15th of December 1960, Christian-Pierre Bourg set up a company called Thomas Collator Europe with an initial capital of 2.500.000 Belgian Francs (BEF) (62.000 €) and a team of six employees. The aim of the company was to distribute American-made collating machines in Europe, Africa and Middle East.
In 1962, the European market was rapidly expanding. Christian-Pierre Bourg responded to this need by manufacturing automated collators under licence in Belgium.
In 1969, the owner of Thomas Collator brand wanted to purchase his distributor, Thomas Collator Europe. Refusing to be bought, Christian-Pierre Bourg lost the distribution rights. He reacted by combining experience, imagination and entrepreneurship spirit to start designing, manufacturing and selling his own brand of patented collating machines with state-of-the art features. From this point on, the company name changed to C.P. Bourg S.A./N.V.
The company started with collating machines but quickly, Christian-Pierre Bourg saw an opportunity to expand his business by incorporating finishing equipment (i.e., booklet makers) to his product's portfolio. Thanks to the continued development of the technology embedded in equipment, the business growth made the Bourg product name become an established trademark in the industry. The company was rapidly developing its commercial activities in Europe with the creation of several subsidiaries. The company continued expanding its distribution and manufacturing capabilities to other continents. In 1977, C.P. Bourg Inc. was established in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to function as C.P. Bourg’s headquarters for the North and South American markets. Once again, this rapid expansion is the evidence of visionary guidelines promoting research and development, quality and efficiency.
In 1986, C.P. Bourg acquired Ordibel, a Belgian company that manufactured and distributed competing collating products on a worldwide basis. A new range of products was added to the company's portfolio: hot melt binders. This acquisition provided increased production capacity and complementary worldwide distribution as well as key subsidiaries in France and Japan.
Three years later, C.P. Bourg acquired A.P.E., a high-tech electronics company. Later, this company became C.P. Bourg Electronics. It was responsible for developing and manufacturing electronic products that were distributed either as stand-alone products (i.e., protocol converters) or as components integrated in existing C.P. Bourg machines. This acquisition provided C.P. Bourg with advanced technology (i.e., software and electronical hardware) that allowed for avant-garde solutions tailored to the changing market.
In the late 1990's, the development of the high-volume digital printing gradually removed the need for collating operation. As a long term strategy, it was key for Christian-Pierre Bourg to become a major player in the printing market as well. Our broad range of finishing equipment, accessory to collators, was customized to meet digital printing requirements and be connected In-Line with printers from XEROX® and KODAK®. Such exclusive customization led to OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) products, a new market for C.P. Bourg. Later, other products (i.e., stackers and feeders) and partners, OCE® and HP Indigo®, were added to OEM business.
Since the early 2000’s, C.P. Bourg established reseller partnerships with prestigious companies such as HP Indigo®, KODAK®, OCE/CANON®, RICOH® and XEROX®. In this new distribution model, the sales operating companies of these partners offer C.P. Bourg finishing equipment as part of a complete solution to the end-users.
Our high-end binders, like the BB3002 EVA/PUR-C, are recognized as the benchmark in single clamp binders, meeting binding requirements for coated media used in digital color printing environments.
C.P. Bourg has developed an award-winning high speed sheet feeder that acts as a production gateway (BSF) for In-Line and Off-Line applications.
Our booklet making products are dedicated to process digitally printed color media through the Bleed Crease Module and our award winning high-end booklet maker (BM-e). In the last few years, workflow automation was integrated into our In-Line and Off-Line finishing solutions.
Our booklet making finishing equipment is now available In-Line/Near-Line/Dual-Mode both in left-to-right and right-to-left configurations.
Over 50 years of continued growth and investment have made it possible for C. P. Bourg to refine a strategy which rests on our three pillars – quality, innovation and efficiency. These are the guiding principles that motivate and unite C.P. Bourg’s employees around the world to make the company what it is today: the leader in print finishing equipment.