We are both excited and proud to share our news including all the latest investments throughout 2017 and continuing into 2018.
2017 was an amazing year for Midland Regional Printers Ltd (MRP), Nottingham’s Packaging and Labels Specialists. The company enjoyed growth and success across several areas – including reaching the finals in two prestigious industry awards, and investing over £1.5m in new equipment and software.
Catherine Tew, MRP’s Sales & Marketing Director and daughter of company founder and Chairman, Stephen Tew, explains: “2017 really was an important year for us at MRP! Business flooded in from new and existing clients which led to us expanding our team from 50 people to 65 – and we’re still recruiting! It’s our committed workforce who make us what we are, and we’re very proud that no fewer than 9 team members celebrated their 25th year of working with us during 2017.”
At a time when many printing firms face difficult market conditions, MRP are enjoying a major growth surge. A few years ago, the company took the brave decision to change its focus from commercial print to packaging and labelling which have always been two of the company’s strengths. With equipment already in place, this put MRP in a strong position to provide a solution for their client’s needs – working alongside household names from the health and beauty, toy, retail and leisure industries.
What’s more, they gained serious recognition from the print world. Says Catherine: “It’s great to see the industry sitting up and taking notice as it shows all our hard work is paying off! Back in 2016, we were delighted to win an award at the FlexoTech International Print & Innovations Awards. Last October, we found ourselves back at the FlexoTech awards, this time as a finalist in the ‘Line and Tone’ category. We were also honoured to be shortlisted for ‘Luxury Packaging Printer of the Year’ in the PrintWeek 2017 Awards – we are very proud of the quality of the work produced by the MRP team.”
With business gaining momentum throughout 2017, MRP made some major investments to make sure they could keep meeting and exceeding their clients’ expectations. Their first acquisition, in February, was a Heidelberg XL B1 6 colour press, which has increased print capacity and enabled MRP to offer a greater variety of packaging options. This was followed in October by an Easymatrix Die-cutter which can handle stocks from 90gsm – 2,000gsm (and corrugated up to 4mm thickness). Then a Flexographic Bar Graphics Rewinder. These machines will run alongside existing plant to boost capacity for both packaging and labels.
“Our investments in 2017 show that MRP are serious about giving our clients the best possible quality and service,’ says Catherine. ‘We firmly believe there’s an even brighter future ahead for us. Our new systems and equipment are the springboard we need to push our business onwards and upwards in 2018 and beyond.”
Apart from print quality and customer service, what are the other secrets of MRP’s success? It’s the company’s ability to provide a complete, end-to-end solution under one roof, coupled with a refusal to adopt something that’s all too common in today’s print industry: a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
“We take the time to understand each client’s unique requirements and specifications of their individual product. Our skilled and experienced staff can provide as much or as little guidance as they need: from simply printing existing designs to offering advice and creating concepts and CAD designs from scratch. From materials and colours to foiling and finishing, it’s all about finding the right format for the job in hand.
We offer a very personal service and our clients are involved at every stage (if they want to be!) We’ll invite them in to discuss progress and see for themselves how their packaging and labels are taking shape. They can even “press the button” on their own print and finishing jobs if they like.”
However, it’s not all ‘work, work, work’ at MRP. During 2017, the company raised over £600 for Children in Need, plus an amazing £1,600 for School for Parents (a local educational charity), when Catherine ran the Robin Hood Half Marathon in September. MRP further supported School for Parents by printing the programmes and menus for their Summer Ball and events. The company also sponsors Nottingham Rugby Club, providing a range print services all their marketing material, to all their match programmes.
Please get in touch if you would like any further information or advice – we look forward to hearing from you.