HANGING OUT FOR INSPIRATION ENTREPRENEURS
GREAT WALL TREK HELPS CHARITY GOOD CAUSE
PAGE 3
PAGE 4
24/7 breaking news at hulldailymail.co.uk
Wednesday December 7 2016
PITCH: Ash Lewis.
City slicker is boxing clever to win award
LABEL SUCCESS: Joint managing director, Dennis Ebeltoft, left, and print operations manager Steve Nix, at Springfield Solutions.
PRINT SPECIALISTS MAKE BOLD MOVE Growing firm plans £1.3m expansion in bid to continue upward trajectory By Debbie Hall Business Reporter d.hall@hulldailymail.co.uk
growth, the company is expanding into a neighbouring building as well as investing in new digital print equipment with two associated new lines of finishing equipment from AB Graphics International. Dennis Ebeltoft, joint managing director of Springfield Solutions, said the investment would enable
growth across each of the company’s divisions – digital print, brand management and media. He said it has been driven by innovation, particularly from the company’s colour management team, which finds new and creative ways to match thousands of colours, and brings consistency to consumer brands that appear in multiple countries across the world. Mr Ebeltoft said: “Springfield Solutions has a long history of innovation, starting with our brand man-
agement division in 1975. We have taken the lessons learned from our reprographics and colour management teams and used the same approaches to innovation with our digital print division. “With digital print, we have constantly pushed the boundaries with what is achievable, particularly in relation to quality, and now, in the majority of cases, we can match and
Continued on PAGE 2
MAI-E01-S4
THREE years of substantial growth are driving a £1.3m expansion for Hull digital printer, brand management and media company, Springfield Solutions. The firm, based in Thomas Street, east Hull, is on target to print more than 160m labels this year – the most it has printed in a single year. In 2014, Springfield Solutions smashed the 100m mark for the first time, increasing that figure to 140m labels last year. Now, to accommodate further
HULL-based smart video advertiser Ash TV has been identified as one of the most promising tech start-ups in the North. The annual awards by TechNorth is a pitch competition that looks to identify and showcase lesser-known, early stage start-ups across the north of England. Ash TV was one of ten winning finalists that made it through regional heats and then pitched their businesses in front of judges and a crowd of 300 at Manchester’s former Granada Studios. The Hull outfit, which is aiming to employ dozens of people in the city next year, won plaudits for its autoplaying video advertising platform for mobile, where advertisers can target audiences by selecting their age, gender, location, interests and occupation. Judge Karen Kerrigan, chief legal officer of the Seedrs equity crowdfunding platform, said: “Video advertising is something I’m naturally sceptical about, but Ash TV is addressing a flaw by optimising muted video. I think they’re going to go a long way.” Ash Lewis, 20, chief executive of Ash TV, is a former pupil of Hull’s Kelvin High School. He said: “This award will give us an amazing opportunity to meet partners and investors – and to break through from the North to the South of England, too.” Ash TV, launched in Hull earlier this year, developed as a new business out of the old Flomigo branded start-up company, which Ash and brother, Andy Lewis, established in the city in 2014.