Why Propping up this year’s Power 100, managing director Jon Tolley is one of the new breed of print bosses that are output agnostic, insofar as he’s just as comfortable in the realms of digital media as ink on paper. “His brain works in a different way to us mere mortals,” says one rival. However, print is still his passion and in June the £4m-turnover, 40-staff business he runs with his brother Adrian moved production to a new site across the road from its Blidworth base, to create “space to grow”. Always first on and last off the dance floor, where “he can ‘dad dance’ with the best of them”, Tolley was conference chair of the inaugural Dscoop EMEA last year, and is currently deputy chairman – second in command to ‘Dscoop daddy’ Gary Peeling (76). Why Another difficult year across the trade finishing sector, but Jon Olley has pushed ahead to consolidate business at the Olro Group after closing one factory, making shrewd investments and optimising work on a recently bought B1 die-cutter. He is charismatic, interacts well with his staff and is practical, according to a colleague. He is also upbeat, with good reason. This summer Olley, a Marylebone Cricket Club member, relished watching England beat the Aussies in the Ashes test series. Good tactical play off the pitch has seen him continue to target investment wisely and go for niche markets to make the most of a market that is not always ‘cricket’. Why Stephen Docherty joined Bell & Bain in 1996 as bindery manager and has since risen to the role of managing director. While Docherty may be a new entrant to the Power 100, Bell & Bain is one of the oldest print firms in the UK, having been founded in 1831. At the end of 2009, the four-strong management team, who between them boast nearly 80 years’ service at the company, bought the firm in an MBO. While the company has a long history, it is not stuck in the past and, under Docherty’s leadership, has been quick to adopt digital technology. Most recently, the Scottish book printer ordered the world’s first Fujifilm Jet Press 540W. Why As managing director of the UK agent for Ryobi sheetfed presses, Bob Usher was possibly a little concerned when news broke that Ryobi and rival Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Printing & Packaging Machinery were to create a joint venture for sheetfed presses. However, when it emerged that Ryobi would be the senior partner and it had no plans to change its UK sales structure, those concerns no doubt quickly evaporated. Mega merger aside, it’s been a busy year for Usher with Apex not only securing a deal...

A statement released by the court, following the confirmation hearing, said: “It will be enormously valuable for the company to get out of Chapter 11, and begin to regain its position in the pantheon of American business.” Filed in April this year, around 16 months after entering bankruptcy protection, Kodak’s 200-page reorganisation plan set out how the business would emerge from Chapter 11 as a smaller, streamlined and profitable entity dedicated to commercial imaging. Under the plan, key objectives to prepare for the emergence of the new organisation include reducing legacy costs, liabilities and infrastructure, exiting or spinning off businesses and assets no longer core to the business and focusing on more profitable business lines. To help fund its emergence Kodak announced the sale, in April this year, of its Document Imaging and Personalised Imaging businesses to UK Kodak Pension Plan (KPP), in a move that also helped solve its pension liability issue in the UK. In July it added a supplement to the Chapter 11 filing that detailed its new executive board, with Antonio Perez remaining at the helm for a year after exiting bankcruptcy protection, or until a successor is elected. Commenting on the court’s confirmation, Perez said: “This critically important milestone marks the final step in the court process. “Next, we move on to emergence as a technology leader serving large and growing commercial imaging markets – such as commercial printing, packaging, functional printing and professional services – with a leaner structure and a stronger balance sheet. “There are additional transactional steps ahead as we complete our Chapter 11 restructuring, but with the court’s decision, our emergence is now imminent.”...

A statement released by the court, following the confirmation hearing, said: “It will be enormously valuable for the company to get out of Chapter 11, and begin to regain its position in the pantheon of American business.” Filed in April this year, around 16 months after entering bankruptcy protection, Kodak’s 200-page reorganisation plan set out how the business would emerge from Chapter 11 as a smaller, streamlined and profitable entity dedicated to commercial imaging. Under the plan, key objectives to prepare for the emergence of the new organisation include reducing legacy costs, liabilities and infrastructure, exiting or spinning off businesses and assets no longer core to the business and focusing on more profitable business lines. To help fund its emergence Kodak announced the sale, in April this year, of its Document Imaging and Personalised Imaging businesses to UK Kodak Pension Plan (KPP), in a move that also helped solve its pension liability issue in the UK. In July it added a supplement to the Chapter 11 filing that detailed its new executive board, with Antonio Perez remaining at the helm for a year after exiting bankcruptcy protection, or until a successor is elected. Commenting on the court’s confirmation, Perez said: “This critically important milestone marks the final step in the court process. “Next, we move on to emergence as a technology leader serving large and growing commercial imaging markets – such as commercial printing, packaging, functional printing and professional services – with a leaner structure and a stronger balance sheet. “There are additional transactional steps ahead as we complete our Chapter 11 restructuring, but with the court’s decision, our emergence is now imminent.”...

The kit cost around £100,000 and was supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems. It enables near-line production of perfect-bound books and replaced a single-clamp Duplo machine. Pureprint production director Ian Godden said: “In our dedicated digital area, the Horizon perfect binder and trimmer are finishing work from our HP 10000 and three HP 7500s. “The kit is more productive, more efficient, better quality and has made a massive difference. That’s not to do down the Duplo; it did us well, but this new kit is just in a different league.” Binding speeds have shot up from 300bph to 1,000bph, while the kit can handle booklets as thin as 1mm. The new investment meant that the company no longer needed to use its large Muller Martini line for short-run digital jobs. “This was not viable, as we had to interrupt large jobs for short-run digital ones. We have more digital production coming on-stream so greater flexibility in handling run lengths was required.” Godden chose the 1,350bph Horizon BQ470 four-clamp binder because of its good reputation, while its user-friendliness made it quick and easy for operators to get to grips with. He said: “We can now get work in and out of the bindery very smoothly. Previously we had to put the work in the van and send it up the road to another site to be finished. Now it is all done in one place. “The department is very efficient because we have more options. We can do runs of one or up to 10,000.”...

The kit cost around £100,000 and was supplied by Intelligent Finishing Systems. It enables near-line production of perfect-bound books and replaced a single-clamp Duplo machine. Pureprint production director Ian Godden said: “In our dedicated digital area, the Horizon perfect binder and trimmer are finishing work from our HP 10000 and three HP 7500s. “The kit is more productive, more efficient, better quality and has made a massive difference. That’s not to do down the Duplo; it did us well, but this new kit is just in a different league.” Binding speeds have shot up from 300bph to 1,000bph, while the kit can handle booklets as thin as 1mm. The new investment meant that the company no longer needed to use its large Muller Martini line for short-run digital jobs. “This was not viable, as we had to interrupt large jobs for short-run digital ones. We have more digital production coming on-stream so greater flexibility in handling run lengths was required.” Godden chose the 1,350bph Horizon BQ470 four-clamp binder because of its good reputation, while its user-friendliness made it quick and easy for operators to get to grips with. He said: “We can now get work in and out of the bindery very smoothly. Previously we had to put the work in the van and send it up the road to another site to be finished. Now it is all done in one place. “The department is very efficient because we have more options. We can do runs of one or up to 10,000.”...