During the early days, dies were made in the traditional way of drawing the shapes directly onto plywood before cutting them out with a jigsaw.
But Frank was a modern man with a vision to remain at the forefront of technological innovations and pushed for investment in new laser technology.
During an interview with Cutter and Creaser magazine in 1975, Frank was quoted as saying: “Old-fashioned dyed-in-the-wool attitudes towards die-making have got to go. Laser cut dies are definitely here to stay. I’ve had a hard time convincing my customers, but once they’ve seen the results they won’t have anything else.”
It was a bold move from Frank, but it was the right move for Arden, who were one of the first to adopt such cutting-edge laser technology.
In 1978, Frank’s son Martin joined the ranks, and with a background in mechanical engineering, continued to drive the company forward.