PCS marked as 'one to watch' by European awards

Plastic Card Services’ new managing director is celebrating the end of a “phenomenal year” which culminated in being shortlisted for a European Business Award.

Named as “one to watch” by tax consultancy firm and award sponsor RSM, the Macclesfield-based printer has seen a 25% upturn of income over the past three months, following Adam Unsworth’s appointment in October last year.

With its nomination for Business of the Year, PCS will compete to be national winner in the UK after which it could go on to the final in May where the European winner is announced.

Unsworth said: “The nomination is a fantastic end to a phenomenal year. If we keep up the way we are going, I am very hopeful for a great increase in turnover when our financial year ends in April.

“We already have a foothold in Europe and especially Scandinavia, with exports making up 10% of our turnover, and I hope we can continue that by moving into markets in Sweden this year.

“I have been with the company for 16 years, starting as a sales account manager and gaining vast experience from the bottom up. I feel I have grown as the company has grown and we are enjoying our busiest spell on record right now.”

In June, the £5.6m-turnover firm invested £1m in a new HP Indigo 5900 seven-colour digital press, alongside a Bürkle Smartlam CHK100/200 laminator and a fully automatic Col-Tec Sheet Collator. Since the installation, Unsworth said orders for digital jobs had gone up by 40%, while the finishing equipment has “doubled litho capacity”.

Unsworth hopes the new digital press will add £500,000 to the company’s turnover within the next two years.

Through 2018, PCS will also look to make further additions to its 49-strong staff, predominantly in the sales and marketing department. Unsworth said the sales wing of the firm had already become “much more active” in recent months.

PCS provides “end-to-end” services for plastic card manufacturing, including personalisation, data processing, and mailing. Founded in 1993, its printing portfolio comprises the HP digital press and a KBA Genius litho press, supplying products to a wide variety of companies in markets such as leisure, retail, and hospitality.