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NEWS

While the last two years might have stifled the pathways many of us thought we would be taking, seeing the opportunities and moving forward remained our priority. Addressing physical and human resources has been key to our progression. In October, the opportunity to re-connect and establish our footing through our Open House event was a significant milestone.

Welcoming a new face to the team…

Bringing a stronger presence has been one of our goals for the last year coming out of the COVID pandemic . Having realised that we had a vacuum in the sales arena we have recently appointed Brian Reeves into the team as our new Sales Manager . Brian has brought with him a wealth of sales and marketing experience in both the food industry and the education sector . Having managed sales in many of the large retail and wholesale food suppliers Brian has gained a considerable amount of experience both in the sales and marketing approach towards these businesses, and how to harness business in a very competitive environment . Having also worked in the education sector for the last 16 years he also has an excellent knowledge of the Schools, Colleges, universities, and private training provider sectors of that market . He is aware of the varied opportunities in this sector and aims to use this to gain the competitive edge over other print suppliers . With this combined knowledge he has set out the sales strategies for each of these sectors and decided in conjunction with the rest of the team the right approach to each particular market . Brian adds …, “I know from experience how much print has influenced the success that I have achieved in my sales

Not standing still.

2021 was a fantastic year where HAD-Print increased its offering significantly . Here are our highlights: ✪ Perfect binding (softback covers) . Giving us the facility to turn-around efficiently shortrun books, limited edition brochures and catalogues . ✪ UUpgraded creasing and folding with a Duplo DC454 and F1 machine, enhancing

our capabilities significantly . ✪ Digital die-cutting and creasing . Bringing short-run packaging and presentation materials at cost-effective means for small quantities . ✪ Duplex Board options, bonding of sheets together to create thicker sheets and case-making of covers . ✪ Upgraded Wirobinding facilities to offer 2:1 alongside

3:1 options (pitch of wire spacing). ✪ Started a succession plan for our older digital press, with additional capacity through a 3rd Canon digital press, providing resilience and additional capacity . The start of 2022 sees us looking at the High Definition Large format options for interior work, commencing Q3 .

career, but now working at the sharp end of this sector I have realised that despite living in a digital world there is still vast opportunities for tactile printed materials to help sell products, educate the mind, or promote products to the wider world” Brian will be very much on the front line of the business, working alongside Stuart . It provides much needed additional resource, to allow Stuart to work at developing other areas within the business, both technical product and specific customer sectors . Brian has a range of business sectors that he is targeting and aiming to work with moving forward, alongside looking after many of the existing customers already enjoying the benefits that HAD-Print has been able to offer them on their own business and customer journey .

Open House

– making impressions in different ways

Since our first Open House event in 2019, we've always aspired to do another event . With the easing of Lockdown and COVID restrictions, the opportunity came about in October 2021 to get our friends and customers back over the threshold and discover more about us .

Marking four years in business - our first in the Halifax studio - we welcomed over thirty guests along to a 2-hour session to discuss the state of play for small businesses post-pandemic and how the print industry is supporting the recovery . Attendees enjoyed open networking, a tour of the HADPrint studio and a classic 'Banger Taste-off' with sausages from close-by Bolster Moor farm shop . Guest speaker - Hussel Marketing owner and former contestant on BBC's 'The Apprentice', Lewis Ellis, - talked about the role of print in an increasingly digital world . "It's all about helping businesses to communicate effectively with their customers through print, and merging digital with physical print can really pack a punch", said Stuart .

"We like to challenge the norm, and print can do this as much as digital when used in the right way. Companies that ignore print nowadays are missing something incredible, particularly in the post-Covid world when people missed interacting with other humans. It's the same with print, it's something you touch and feel, and people want to see that more 'human' approach again within marketing." The guest speaker's contribution, in particular, proved to grab the attention of attendees, generating plenty of post-event feedback about the actions it had provoked them to consider for their businesses .

Environmentally sound

We don’t just look at the credentials; we look at the big picture . We use paper stocks from sources close by to minimise our carbon footprint . Where possible, we source paper through channels that promote repurposing rejected stock, for example, mislabelled documents . Our waste paper is recycled into cardboard tubes within 10 miles of our Halifax site . Our facilities include environmentallyfriendly products . HADPrint is and will always be a green-conscious company .

Always evolving.The first quarter of 2022 will see HAD-Print become one of the trading names under the HAD-Group (West Yorks .) branding . Both West and North Yorkshire businesses are undergoing a minor restructuring to better enable future growth . During the last three years, the sister business in Selby has grown the office technology business by now becoming a Premier Partner for Konica Minolta . Here in West Yorkshire, we have further opportunities to develop in the pipeline, where the previous structure would have made these developments harder to implement .