The new 500sqm digital unit, which is sited on the Macclesfield, Cheshire-based firm’s existing manufacturing campus within Tytherington Business Village, is situated next to its existing base and takes its total floor area up to around 2,800sqm.
The facility, part of a wider £1m investment, was officially opened earlier this month by Macclesfield MP David Rutley and the event was combined with a celebratory silver anniversary BBQ for staff.
Rutley said: “PCS are a great example of how a company can grow UK-wide, and, indeed, internationally securing opportunities for the futures of local people. It is good to see how they have worked with landlords, Orbit [Developments], to expand their operations yet stay in the Macclesfield area.”
PCS has recently launched Plastic Card Hub, a new web-to-print offering targeted at customers with shorter-run plastic card orders.
The initiative is the result of the firm’s recent investment, which also comprised new kit including a Bürkle Smartlam CHK100/200 laminator, an HP Indigo 5900 seven-colour digital press, a fully automatic Col-Tec sheet collator and a MicroPoise MK2 hot-foil stamping machine.
The equipment has doubled the firm’s production capacity from 80 million to 160 million cards per year.
“At PCS we always strive to be at the fore of the plastic card market, we knew the demand for shorter-run work was there from our existing customers and the investment in a digital facility was a natural next step for the firm,” said PCS managing director Adam Unsworth.
The business, which currently employs 50 staff and turns over around £5.9m, has also promoted two new members to its senior management team, effective from Monday (10 September).
Paul Hansford has stepped up from national account manager into the role of sales director while Louise Ray has been promoted from marketing communications manager to director of marketing and communications.
Ray’s position is newly created, and her previous role will be filled by an expanded marketing team that will be assembled in the coming months. Hansford, meanwhile, fills the gap left by Unsworth, who was sales director before stepping up to become managing director of PCS last October.
“As a company we have ambitious growth plans and so it is vital that we have strong management support in all areas of the business,” said Unsworth.
“Paul has been with PCS for 20 years and his experience and insight has proven crucial in building and developing valuable customer relationships, whilst Louise has been with us for three years, and in this time has quickly emerged as an invaluable asset to the company’s long-term strategy.”
PCS was established in 1993 by Rob Nicholls and Tim Holt after they spotted a gap in the commercial card market.
“They set up from their bedrooms and were just selling cards and didn’t have any manufacturing equipment at the time, so they had to sell on service,” said Ray.
“That ethos has carried on as the company has grown – service is still key to what we do, and a lot of our customers have been with us for 10 to 15 years.”
The business is highlighting its 25th anniversary to clients via stationery including business cards and letterheads featuring a commemorative silver logo. It has also changed its corporate colour back to the original blue that was used when the business was first launched.
