Prior to the deal, since May 2009 the Welsh magazine printer had been working on an ad-hoc basis with Haymarket, publisher of PrintWeek.
Haymarket Business Media head of production Gary Charlton, who led the tender with procurement consultant Jill Carlier, said: "Since then more of our titles have moved from web to sheetfed so it seemed the right time to put the work out to tender."
According to Charlton, the two-month tender was a "bruising" process that centred on key criteria such as environmental accreditations, client retention, CSR, business continuity plans, investment programmes in people and kit and profit in relation to sales and price.
"It certainly wasn’t based just on price; we were never just going to go for the cheapest option. It was equally important that we selected a partner with a sustainable business model," he added.
S&G commercial director Simon Davies said: "It’s a fantastic deal and one that secures stability and security for both parties. It is not at a [price] level we’re uncomfortable with."
S&G group managing director Andrew Jones added: "Haymarket has been a target account for us for going on 20 years, so this is a great win. It’s deals like this that have enabled us to invest in Merthyr Tydfil, where we’re told we have the most modern sheetfed plant in Europe."
The fourth-generation family business, which celebrates its centenary next year, embarked on a £10m re-equip three years ago. The 220-staff, £20m-turnover firm also launched an in-house apprentice programme.
Seven companies were involved in the tender process, which was initially for just a 12-month contract. It encompasses 14 magazines, including PrintWeek, which moved from Wyndeham Heron to S&G this week.
Eight of the 14 titles were already being printed by S&G, but it has added six new titles as a result of the deal. It has also secured preferred supplier status for HBM’s sheetfed supplements for the contracted titles and others such as Marketing, PR Week and Campaign.
Wyndeham remains Haymarket’s primary web supplier.
Stephens & George secures 4m Haymarket print deal
Stephens & George (S&G) has won a three-year contract with Haymarket Media Group to print the publisher's weekly and monthly sheetfed B2B titles in a deal worth up to 4m.
