Following a relocation from its 232sqm premises to a four-times-larger 929sqm base at the start of the year, the Norfolk-based branch of the Minuteman Press franchise has taken on YourWear's full line-up of garment and promotional product printing machinery.
YourWear, based in Wisbech, was acquired on 1 April for an undisclosed sum. It has transferred its client database to Minuteman King's Lynn alongside its equipment. No staff made the transition to the buyer, but Minuteman has since hired an additional member of staff while some existing staff are trained on the new garment kit.
Minuteman King's Lynn managing director Keith Boyce, who owns the franchise with his wife Paula, said: “In effect, YourWear wanted to wind down the business and entrust their customer business to a safe pair of hands.
“This coincided with a slight change in strategy at the top from Minuteman, where shops have been asked to get more involved in dye-sublimation and look to acquire businesses that fit with that model and have a strong list of customers.”
At the tail end of last year, the business also bought an unnamed promotional gifts company.
Over the next sixth months, Minuteman King's Lynn will gradually phase out use of the YourWear name when dealing with its inherited clients until the brand is fully absorbed.
YourWear’s remit incorporated the production of apparel for corporate, work, sports, safety and promotional jobs on equipment including two heat presses, a cap printer and a mug printer from Xpres, a plotter/cutter from Roland, an OKI printer and a Ricoh dye-sublimation machine, which have all been transferred to Minuteman King's Lynn.
Minuteman King's Lynn’s pre-existing technology portfolio includes Xerox Color 1000 and D110 presses alongside an iGen 150 that was installed in October last year.
The shop’s new premises are climate controlled in order to meet the specifications set in place by Xerox for any business wanting to run an iGen machine. Its previous premises were better suited to litho operations, which Boyce said the shop phased out entirely four years ago.
Now with eight members of staff on its fully-established new premises, Minuteman Press King's Lynn has plans on eyeing up further acquisitions in line with its parent’s aims, as well as doubling the size of its business.
The shop has also been awarded a BEE Energy Grant which has seen it kick off the process of increasing its energy efficiency and becoming carbon neutral.
