60 seconds with Willow Printing & Design

Established in 1978 above a local delicatessen by husband and wife team John and Pat Kilshaw, Willow Printing & Design has grown into its own factory and from its litho roots into a multi-service operation including digital printing and personalised promotional products. Today, the business is run by the next generation of Kilshaws – brother and sister team Barry (pictured left with a happy customer) and Cheryl.

Where are you based? 

Newton le Willows, Merseyside

How many staff do you have? 

Seven

What does your firm do?

Everything from t-shirts and mugs to leaflets. And NCR pads are still a major part of our
business. 

What’s your typical customer?

We have a long-standing customer base among business-to-business clients, as well as  our local business network

Which geographic areas do
you serve?

Mostly within a six-mile radius but we ship to customers all over the UK

Which markets do you serve?

We do a fair bit of work for the merchant services and home care sectors.

What’s your USP?

The personal touch in terms of the service we offer our customers

What equipment do you run?

We have three Heidelberg GTOs, two Xerox digital devices, Canon wide-format equipment, dye-sub printing and an OKI digital printer. 

What’s been your proudest achievement in the past few years?

The fact that we have come through the recession when lots of other companies went to the wall, especially in this area

Where do you see your business in five years’ time?

Our personalised range will increase and the digital side will grow

What’s your team’s favourite biscuit?

Chocolate Hobnobs