Willenhall label printer boosted by digital investment

CS Labels, of Willenhall Trading Estate, Midacre, has invested more than £2 million since 2008 when it bought its first digital press – it now has three in operation and all labels are printed digitally

The business has been transformed under the leadership of managing director Simon Smith who joined CS Labels in 2000 after a career in banking and is now on a sustainable footing.

Since 2000 the number of people employed has tripled from 10 to 30 – seven added in the last 18 months – and turnover has grown from £650,000 to a predicted £2.5m this year.

Mr Smith, aged 50, had no experience of the printing business before taking over the company which had been started by his father-in-law Roger Hughes in 1976 as Creative Screen Print.

He joined his wife Lee and brother-in-law Guy Hughes as a director and has applied his banking experience to changing the fortunes of the business and move it in the new direction.

"The company was a small business that had been starved of investment and lacked a clear business plan or strategy," said Mr Smith.

The firm moved from Fordhouses to its current site in 2003 but was then hit by a lot of label printing work moving to China and turnover fell 30 per cent in 2005.

"When we went digital we broke the mould and started to grow again," he added.

Last year CS took on an adjoining unit to increase its space on the estate to 11,000 sq ft including a mezzanine floor.

"This has doubled our production area and provided a new studio, board room and offices," explained Mr Smith.

CS has just take delivery of a new finishing line which has now started operation.

The company is now looking to take on an extra two staff as it gears up for continued growth.

"We are targeting 25 per cent growth for 2014 and have just taken on a new contract for 22 million labels," added Mr Smith.

He said that the firm was on course to eventually increase its annual turnover to between £3.5m and £4m.

The new equipment has enabled it to produce 'peel and reveal' labels in house and put high quality images on almost any kind of material.

"There are almost limitless opportunities with our new technology. We are not limited in the size of label or image we can now reproduce. We are also now able to take customers' products and enhance the brand image and make it stand out," added Mr Smith, who is proud that eight of the staff who were there in 2000 have been retained and re-trained with new skills needed for digital printing

Mr Smith said CS was continuing to win new orders from across the UK from word of mouth from satisfied customers and increasingly engaging a new audience through its own website – www.cslabels.co.uk – and via social media.

"We encourage new customers to come and see us and experience what digital printing and we can do for them," he added.

Mr Smith said his banking experience had helped the company access funding including grants through the Government's Regional Growth Fund by making a case for support for emerging technology giving the opportunity to access new markets.

"We have been able to carry out the investment without increasing our overdraft facility," he said.

CS Labels was yesterday hosting an event at the Village Hotel in Walsall to showcase the printing technology of its suppliers Xeikon.

Over the years CS has bought five Xeikon presses and currently has three in operation including the largest digital label printer in Europe using Xeikon technology.