Your Print Partner Ltd is on a mission to bring wide-format print and display manufacture back to the UK, having today announced the arrival of four new digital print machines at its headquarters in Lincoln.
The new direct-to-textile machines are the latest big investment in production technology for the company, having spent £1.5 million already this year on its new manufacturing hub.
Back in January, the company purchased a new Mimaki UJV55 320 LED-UV pvc printer, new Mimaki 320 DS wide fabric machines and a Mimaki JFX200 flat bed printer, which have now been joined by the four additional Mimaki 320 DS printers.
Your Print Partner specialises in producing printed outdoor marketing products, such as flags, banners and graphic ‘wraps’, and fabric exhibition and point-of-sale displays.
“Our core business is expanding rapidly and we wanted to ensure we could meet this exciting challenge quickly” said YPP Managing Director Stuart Maclaren.
Your Print Partner was established in 2011 by Maclaren, and just six years later now finds itself as the UK’s largest producer of printed ‘soft signage’ and indoor fabric displays. He set up his business having noticed that the ‘major players’ in the large-format print industry were outsourcing jobs to suppliers in Eastern Europe and China, so made it his goal to bring print and manufacture back to the UK.
“Manufacturing our products in-house gives us greater quality control, reduces lead times, and makes us more flexible and responsive to our customers needs” said Maclaren.
Today’s announcement was accompanied with the news that the company would be creating ten new jobs and was offering a number of new Digital Print Apprenticeships.
“As well as keeping pace with global technology, another key challenge in our industry has been recruiting workers with the necessary skills. We are now working with a number of industry bodies and our local college to offer some exciting Apprenticeships and train the future stars of YPP”.
Already this year eight new jobs were created in the company’s growing sewing department, with all flags and fabric display products finished by hand by the skilled team of machinists.
With a turnover of £13.8 billion, the UK printing sector has become an important economic contributor and employer in all regions. The city of Lincoln, where YPP is based, has a proud manufacturing history in aviation and agricultural equipment and is known as the birthplace of the tank. As heavy industry declined at the end of the 20th century, companies like YPP are now providing the vision of the future of manufacturing in the region.
