BT has awarded a 50m contract to manage its print operations to Edotech, the bulk printer and document processing organisation.

Edotech will print and despatch the pages and envelopes for phone bills, reminders and details of contracts.

It will produce 170m envelopes a year in a deal that is expected to save BT 25m over five years.

"Well be charging back billing services to BT," said Sam Ferguson, chief executive of Edotech.

The Gloucestershire-based company will take over two BT sites in Milton Keynes and Gateshead with 120 employees and all of its printing equipment.

"One of the things that interested me in the deal is that BT has spent the past two years acquiring Scitex equipment and has people who can run it," said Ferguson.

"Traditionally the work would have been done on laser printers, which is what our core business is centred around."

Ferguson added that Edotech was looking to work with BT in other areas. "Part of the account managers job is to develop further work such as IT solutions, outsourcing, running IT mainframes. For now, Edotech will be doing the out-print management.

"BT has high volume and theres the opportunity to develop more business in partnership."

Edotech was spawned from a management buyout in May 2000 backed by Barclays Private Equity. Its original customer base was Barclays Bank mail-outs but its client list now includes companies in the insurance, telecommunications and utilities sectors.

Story by Anna Clarke