Hillhouse took up the post, a step up from his previous role as sales manager for the UK, at the beginning of August. He will now be responsible for sales in all markets except North America, for which managing director Quen Baum will remain in charge. Hillhouse said that he was focusing on improving the finishing manufacturer’s opportunities in his new markets and would focus on integrating the Plockmatic line, comprising mail feeding systems and booklet makers acquired when the Swedish firm bought Morgana at the beginning of 2013. Baum said: “Ray’s objective will be to grow sales overall, but specifically for our own Morgana and Plockmatic manufactured products. “The focus for this will include working even closer with our existing distribution partners and helping them to grow business in their territories, appointing new dealers where appropriate, and entering markets where we have yet to establish a presence.” Hillhouse added that a replacement for his former role would be recruited “in time”, giving the team time to focus on integration and improvement....

Hillhouse took up the post, a step up from his previous role as sales manager for the UK, at the beginning of August. He will now be responsible for sales in all markets except North America, for which managing director Quen Baum will remain in charge. Hillhouse said that he was focusing on improving the finishing manufacturer’s opportunities in his new markets and would focus on integrating the Plockmatic line, comprising mail feeding systems and booklet makers acquired when the Swedish firm bought Morgana at the beginning of 2013. Baum said: “Ray’s objective will be to grow sales overall, but specifically for our own Morgana and Plockmatic manufactured products. “The focus for this will include working even closer with our existing distribution partners and helping them to grow business in their territories, appointing new dealers where appropriate, and entering markets where we have yet to establish a presence.” Hillhouse added that a replacement for his former role would be recruited “in time”, giving the team time to focus on integration and improvement....

The paper merchant teamed up with charity organiser Peter Howell Events (PHE) to establish a 40-mile route around the Chiltern Hills, beginning and ending near Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. It is the first time that Gerald Judd has organised such an event, who were inspired to follow a cycling theme through discussions with fellow biking enthusiasts in the paper trade. The team used the established set up of the St George’s Day Luncheon Club, part of PHE, to organise the event. While CLIC Sargent was a natural choice of charity due to its long-term affiliation with PHE, commercial director Chris Palmer has first hand experience of seeing the good work the charity does to support families with children suffering from cancer. Currently 40 cyclists have signed up to take part, but the fundraising team would ideally like the participant number for the race to reach 100. Entry to the race is £50, which covers a £20 donation towards CLIC Sargent and a cycling jersey given to the racers as a memento. The deadline for ordering a jersey is this Friday, although late entries will be accepted without guarantee of the top arriving in time for the race. Contact peter@phaevents.co.uk to get involved or visit http://www.justgiving.com/sgd to donate to this worthy cause....

The paper merchant teamed up with charity organiser Peter Howell Events (PHE) to establish a 40-mile route around the Chiltern Hills, beginning and ending near Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. It is the first time that Gerald Judd has organised such an event, who were inspired to follow a cycling theme through discussions with fellow biking enthusiasts in the paper trade. The team used the established set up of the St George’s Day Luncheon Club, part of PHE, to organise the event. While CLIC Sargent was a natural choice of charity due to its long-term affiliation with PHE, commercial director Chris Palmer has first hand experience of seeing the good work the charity does to support families with children suffering from cancer. Currently 40 cyclists have signed up to take part, but the fundraising team would ideally like the participant number for the race to reach 100. Entry to the race is £50, which covers a £20 donation towards CLIC Sargent and a cycling jersey given to the racers as a memento. The deadline for ordering a jersey is this Friday, although late entries will be accepted without guarantee of the top arriving in time for the race. Contact peter@phaevents.co.uk to get involved or visit http://www.justgiving.com/sgd to donate to this worthy cause....

The print company, based in Lavenham, Suffolk will take delivery of the Heidelberg combination machine tomorrow (14 August) when it will replace two MBO folders. One of those will be kept in storage and the other sold on, while a third B2 Horizon AFC564A machine will continue on general folding jobs. The B1 KH82 is Lavenham Press’ first combination machine and will be dedicated to signature folding. Lavenham Press managing director Terence Dalton said that the decision to switch from buckle to combination technology was not a conscious decision, rather it was the two-level stacker that attracted him to the automated 10,000sph Stahlfolder. “The operator can spend more time at the feeder end knowing that the stacker will look after itself,” Dalton said. Currently, the 50-strong company has four employees who work in the folding area, but the automated machine will allow this to be cut down to three people working over three shifts. Dalton did not want to make any job cuts, so the fourth worker will be redeployed to mind a Muller stitching line following the retirement of Lavenham Press’ main stitcher operator in March. Dalton said: “There was a specific reason for us making the investment now. Rather than replace our former stitcher operator, we thought it was more cost effective to strengthen the folding area with modern technology. This will allow us to release one person, who will effectively replace our retired operator.” He added that the Stahlfolder KH82 was a “sizeable investment” for the £4m turnover company....