In her new role, Taylforth will lead FaberExposize UK’s expansion plans, searching out new investments in technology and rolling out infrastructure improvements, including the in-progress development of a new PrintIQ MIS.

Taylforth joined the former flag specialist in 2014 as marketing manager, quickly proving herself a vital player in the business in its repositioning as a generalist wide-format printer.

Managing director Iain Clasper-Cotte told Printweek: “From the very beginning, Claire was always keen to get involved in all the different parts of the business, and so she soon made herself invaluable in all the other areas outside of marketing.”

When Northern Flags rebranded to FaberExposize UK and brought its manufacturing in-house in 2016-17, Taylforth stepped up to become the firm’s general manager.

“She has an attention to detail, and a patience to go through things,” Clasper-Cotte added.

“We’re really lucky, in that we have such a great core management team, totally at ease with each others’ strengths and weaknesses. 

“Luke [Barraclough] is doing a brilliant job running the production floor, Claire’s running all of the admin and the office side of things, and I lead the sales. Each person is so different within the team, and it’s really useful as the sum of the parts is definitely greater than any of us as individuals.”

Taylforth said: “I have loved the way at FaberExposize UK I have been given the opportunity to grow my career in the same way we do for all our team. 

“When I joined, I really did not anticipate such a rapid change from running email campaigns and marketing initiatives to being responsible for moving the business into a new state-of-the-art factory and then creating one of the most efficient, modern specialist wide-format printers in the UK. 

“Even now I am running a six-figure investment initiative to create a leading MIS system, I cannot wait to be involved in our 2024 expansion plans.”

The new PrintIQ MIS, Clasper-Cotte added, will help smooth the company's quoting processes and enable it to link directly to its larger trade clients, letting them send orders directly through to Faberexposize UK's own system.

Taylforth’s promotion to operations director puts her at the top rung of a diverse company, with an employee base of 70% women and team members from nine different nations.

Clasper-Cotte attributed this diversity – almost unheard of in the industry – to the company recruiting from scratch when reshoring its production.

“We could just hire who we thought was best for the job at the time, and would be happy in the culture we were trying to create,” he said.

“We were really keen to train everybody up to be multidisciplinary and to give people a career path – and Claire is a good example of that.”