The Duchess is the patron of the Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF) charity for which the Llandysul printer recently won a previously China-based print contract through a competitive tender. The PCF’s remit is to produce printed and online records cataloguing every oil painting in public ownership in the UK. Under the agreement, Gomer will produce in-house more than 90 400-page, full-colour, case-bound regional catalogues for the organisation. They will be printed on 150gsm Lumi silk paper, with satin coating, on Gomer’s four-colour B1 Heidelberg Speedmaster XL106. Arriving by helicopter, the Duchess was given a tour of the site before officially launching the first five volumes, which cover The National Museum of Wales, The National Library of Wales, North and Mid Wales, South Wales and West Wales. Gomer managing director Jonathan Lewis said: “It was a real coup to win this work and we were delighted when Her Royal Highness confirmed she would visit us. “It was a perfect opportunity to showcase our factory after significant investment in the printroom and bindery last year. The work is full-colour, high-pagination, quality-critical and case-bound, so a perfect fit for us as it can all be produced in-house.” On repatriating its print contract from China, PCF founder Fred Hohler said: “We chose Gomer as print partner because of a combination of price, quality and service. As a charity we have to look carefully at costs, but because of the nature of the project we were very keen to print here in the UK. He added: “It was a happy coincidence that the first titles to be printed in Wales were the five volumes covering Wales and fantastic that our patron The Duchess of Cornwall could be present to launch these important books.”...

The Duchess is the patron of the Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF) charity for which the Llandysul printer recently won a previously China-based print contract through a competitive tender. The PCF’s remit is to produce printed and online records cataloguing every oil painting in public ownership in the UK. Under the agreement, Gomer will produce in-house more than 90 400-page, full-colour, case-bound regional catalogues for the organisation. They will be printed on 150gsm Lumi silk paper, with satin coating, on Gomer’s four-colour B1 Heidelberg Speedmaster XL106. Arriving by helicopter, the Duchess was given a tour of the site before officially launching the first five volumes, which cover The National Museum of Wales, The National Library of Wales, North and Mid Wales, South Wales and West Wales. Gomer managing director Jonathan Lewis said: “It was a real coup to win this work and we were delighted when Her Royal Highness confirmed she would visit us. “It was a perfect opportunity to showcase our factory after significant investment in the printroom and bindery last year. The work is full-colour, high-pagination, quality-critical and case-bound, so a perfect fit for us as it can all be produced in-house.” On repatriating its print contract from China, PCF founder Fred Hohler said: “We chose Gomer as print partner because of a combination of price, quality and service. As a charity we have to look carefully at costs, but because of the nature of the project we were very keen to print here in the UK. He added: “It was a happy coincidence that the first titles to be printed in Wales were the five volumes covering Wales and fantastic that our patron The Duchess of Cornwall could be present to launch these important books.”...

The £1.3bn takeover, completed in June 2012, pushed revenues for the newly integrated business up by 86% to £3.7bn (2011: £1.9m). The company also cited underlying volume growth in corrugated box sales for the strong performance. Operating profit increased 77% to £250.9m (2011: £142m). The company also revised upwards its expected cost savings from the acquisition, from £86m to £100m. Group chief executive Miles Roberts said it had been a transformational year for the company. He added: “We have made substantial operating, financial and strategic progress, following the acquisition and successful integration of SCA Packaging, providing a strong platform for further growth. “The ongoing commitment and focus from our employees has enabled us not only to deliver the initial synergies we targeted earlier than expected, but also to identify further synergies across the enlarged business.” Roberts cited substantial earnings growth and confidence in medium-term prospects for the business FTSE 250 for a 36% increase in full-year dividend to 8p (2011: 5.9p) The group figures were however, impacted by the depressed paper market, which resulted in a 26% decline in operating profit for its UK division. Total revenues for the UK arm, comprising its corrugated packaging business, recycling operations and UK paper manufacturing facilities, remained flat at £961m (2011: £960m). Roberts said: “While our core UK corrugated packaging business has delivered a robust performance, revenues for the overall UK division have been impacted by continuing weakness in the paper market, as a result of which, prices and demand have remained subdued.” Focus going forward would be to continue growing the packaging and recycling businesses, while “reducing our exposure to paper manufacturing and disposing of non-core businesses and assets”, he said. Roberts said the current financial year had started well and was in line with expectations. “Continued market share gains, together with the delivery of further synergies underpin our confidence for the future, despite the market backdrop remaining challenging and the expected impact of input cost pressures. “Our strengthened customer proposition will be further enhanced by increased investment in capital expenditure, R&D and new business development. Looking ahead we remain excited about the further growth opportunities for the group,” he added....

The £1.3bn takeover, completed in June 2012, pushed revenues for the newly integrated business up by 86% to £3.7bn (2011: £1.9m). The company also cited underlying volume growth in corrugated box sales for the strong performance. Operating profit increased 77% to £250.9m (2011: £142m). The company also revised upwards its expected cost savings from the acquisition, from £86m to £100m. Group chief executive Miles Roberts said it had been a transformational year for the company. He added: “We have made substantial operating, financial and strategic progress, following the acquisition and successful integration of SCA Packaging, providing a strong platform for further growth. “The ongoing commitment and focus from our employees has enabled us not only to deliver the initial synergies we targeted earlier than expected, but also to identify further synergies across the enlarged business.” Roberts cited substantial earnings growth and confidence in medium-term prospects for the business FTSE 250 for a 36% increase in full-year dividend to 8p (2011: 5.9p) The group figures were however, impacted by the depressed paper market, which resulted in a 26% decline in operating profit for its UK division. Total revenues for the UK arm, comprising its corrugated packaging business, recycling operations and UK paper manufacturing facilities, remained flat at £961m (2011: £960m). Roberts said: “While our core UK corrugated packaging business has delivered a robust performance, revenues for the overall UK division have been impacted by continuing weakness in the paper market, as a result of which, prices and demand have remained subdued.” Focus going forward would be to continue growing the packaging and recycling businesses, while “reducing our exposure to paper manufacturing and disposing of non-core businesses and assets”, he said. Roberts said the current financial year had started well and was in line with expectations. “Continued market share gains, together with the delivery of further synergies underpin our confidence for the future, despite the market backdrop remaining challenging and the expected impact of input cost pressures. “Our strengthened customer proposition will be further enhanced by increased investment in capital expenditure, R&D and new business development. Looking ahead we remain excited about the further growth opportunities for the group,” he added....

The three affected branches are Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham. As part of the restructure, PaperlinX would create a Midlands ‘branch’ at its Moulton Park head office in Northampton. Affected staff were informed last Friday. A collective consultation across the three sites will begin this week with a total of around 80 roles expected to be cut across them and also the Delivery Co logistics arm. An undisclosed number of staff will be offered roles at Moulton Park. According to the company, the restructure of its Midlands operations will have no impact on customers and it will “further improve efficiencies and facilitate a high level of customer service”. Meanwhile, Buxton’s enlarged role means he will take on responsibility for Narrow Format Reels, Graphic & Carton board, Graphical Consumables, WebCo, Precision Publishing, Resellers and Brightstream. This will be in addition to heading up Paperlinx’s UK commercial print operation, which includes the three merchanting brands recently united under the parent brand: Robert Horne, Howard Smith and Paper Co. Buxton will be supported by the operations’ existing management teams, headed up by David Darwood (Precision Publishing), Steve Webb (narrow format reels and graphic and cartonboard), Robin Watkinson (WebCo) and Mandy Gallego (commercial print sales and operations). Buxton will report to Paperlinx UK managing director Phil Carr. “This new structure forms a key part of our mission to ensure a customer-centric business model,” said Buxton....