BUSINESS / NEWS 12 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk March / April 2024 - Issue 347 PrintMonthly printmonthly PrintMonthlyMagazine Five printing experts based in Scotland have launched a new premium spirit labelling production business called Spirit Label Solutions in response to the growing demand from producers of increasingly popular craft whisky and gins. Collectively the founders have over 100 years of experience within the print sector and have set up the company in order to bring a bespoke approach to label production. The company has been established with an investment of £5m for the state-of-the-art facility and production line which is based in a recently refurbished unit in Westway at Glasgow airport. The facility is 15,113sq ft and is based in Scotland’s largest fully enclosed industrial park which has links to Glasgow Airport and the city centre. Spirit Label Solutions will seek to produce fully bespoke digitally printed labels including embellishments, foiling, tube wraps, embossing, and packaging design. Founded by chief executive officer Alex Mulvenny, managing director Tom Lightbody, and directors Finlay McLachlan, Jamie Thomson, and Chris Crockert, the company secured a long-term lease agreement with Canmoor, a developer and asset management business. Mulvenny says: “Our primary focus is on delivering a high-quality label printing service to our clients. With extensive experience in premium spirits labelling, our leadership team brings over a century of collective industry experience.” Spirit Label Solutions launches [L to R] Alex Mulvenny, Chris Crockert, Tom Lightbody, Jamie Thomson, and Finlay McLachlan By David Osgar Agfa, part of the Agfa-Gavaert Group, has partnered with EFI for both companies to integrate their technologies into their portfolios. The partnership will debut at FESPA Global Print Expo in Amsterdam (March 19th to 22nd) where the companies will demonstrate the benefits of the collaboration on their respective stands. Under the agreement, Agfa will integrate EFI’s roll-to-roll system into its offerings while EFI will incorporate Agfa’s hybrid inkjet printers into its suite of solutions. Arnaud Calleja, vice president digital printing solutions at Agfa, says: "By integrating [EFI’s] roll-to-roll platform into our sign and display offerings, we are poised to deliver an exceptionally diverse product range with unprecedented value to our customer base.” Agfa and EFI announce strategic partnership Micropress has invested £3.5m in the business to keep broadening its offerings to customers. The Suffolk-based business specialises in solutions for publishing, direct mail, and advertising media such as brochures and leaflets. Micropress currently employs around 180 people and has generated sales of around £30m in 2023. The investment has meant an extension to Micropress’ existing site which joins the paper warehouse and main factory together, giving the company an extra 1,600sq m of operating space. Micropress has also purchased a Canon IX3200 inkjet press, Horizon CABS4000V to increase short-run binding capacity, and an additional TH 82-P Stahlfolder, and there are plans to invest in a complementary automated stack-down system. Micropress has invested in new equipment and space in order to increase production and solutions Both companies will debut the collaboration at FESPA in Amsterdam Micropress invests £3.5m in business FACER. which services a number of wellknown brands with printed packaging has provided a new packaging solution for PerfectTed which acquired investment from Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett last year on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den. Teddie Levenfiche and Marisa Poster, founders of PerfectTed entered the Den to obtain £50,000 in investment for a 5% stake in the business which produces matcha green tea products in order promote positive energy and wellbeing to tackle mental health disorders. FACER. provided PerfectTed with a gabletopped envelope-based carton pack to house seven sachets of PerfectTed’s single serve matcha as well as a shelf-ready solution to hold 12 packs in retail stores. FACER. partners with Dragons’ Den winners FACER. recently celebrated 85 years in the print and packaging industry Tradeprint recently welcomed local MP Chris Law to its new expanded facility which has doubled its operational space from 20,000 to 40,000sq ft. Chris Law is the MP for Dundee West and is part of the Scottish National Party (SNP) having occupied the seat since 2015, being re-elected in both 2017 and 2019, the latter of which he received over 22,000 votes. The visit to Tradeprint acted as a chance for the company to showcase the expansion of its premises as well as the investment it has made in large machinery including a Heidelberg LED UV offset press. Law was shown the scale of Tradeprint’s operations as well as the impact of its continued investment in the city of Dundee with the company having supported job creation, retention, and skills development in the local community. The visit also gave Tradeprint the chance to highlight the challenges of rising energy costs and new legislations such as the Plastic Packaging Tax and Tradeprint’s mission to achieve net zero by 2040. The company stressed that innovative solutions are needed to mitigate the cost impact of legislation as well as strategic adaptation from the industry to deal with the recent EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Tradeprint welcomes local MP to premises The visit provided the opportunity to discuss the challenges facing the industry By David Osgar
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