SME of the Year 2015: First 4 Print Finishing

First the reckoning: “Quite possibly the toughest year in terms of the number of exceptional entries,” said the judges. “But this company once again proved, even in one of the toughest markets, that getting the basics right pays dividends.”

www.first4pf.co.uk 01254 690044 

First 4 Print Finishing in Blackburn, Lancashire, produces up to 12m promotional items a day and fulfils around 300 million mail packs a year. And this year is exciting: it sees the purchase of the company’s main premises and the building of a 2,800m2 extension. Next, a £250,000 drive in the folding department will add three new high-speed automated lines. First 4 Print Finishing expects turnover to exceed £3.75m, well on the way to hitting its three-year target to get beyond £5m.


Highly commended 

CS Labels

www.cslabels.co.uk 01902 365840 

In 2015 the second-generation family business in Midacre, West Midlands, became one of only two UK sites to take delivery of the Xeikon Cheetah to become the largest reel-to-reel digital Xeikon house in Europe and has already ordered a second machine. But it was the business’s fantastic fiscal performance that caught the judges’ eyes: “An impressive business, definitely one to watch.”

Plastic Card Services (PCS)

www.plastic-card-services.co.uk 01625 504000

Things are looking up in Macclesfield, Cheshire, not only has PCS won its third category commendation in four years. But investing in staff, focusing on exports and honing R&D in areas like nanotechnology has helped contribute to a 31% annual increase in revenue. “If there was a prize for consistently impressive performance year after year, PCS would win it,” the judges concluded.


Finalists

AJS Labels

CS labels

First 4 Print Finishing

Kingfisher Print & Design

Plastic Card Services

Prime Group