Review of 2021: February

Royal Mail/CWU accord mean new services will be possible
Royal Mail/CWU accord mean new services will be possible

Our annual roundup of all the big stories from around the UK printing industry in the past 12 months.

Riverside Printers acquired screen and wide-format specialist Action Screen Process... Royal Mail and CWU reached an accord over a new framework agreement about future working practices, job security and pay... Moonpig reported its strongest-ever trading week in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, but also found itself incurring the wrath of customers again after some of those orders failed to live up to expectations... Paragon Customers Communications launched a new large-scale apprenticeship programme during National Apprenticeship Week. In the same month it completed a £6m revamp of its mailing operations as part of a futureproofing strategy... FlyerAlarm stopped selling into the UK because of issues with delivering products here, post-Brexit... Historic printer Barnard & Westwood began its centenary year under fresh ownership after veteran retail entrepreneur Maurice Bennett CBE acquired the business. B&W had been owned by an Employee Benefit Trust since 2015... Peter Andreou was back in the industry with a fresh print acquisition just completed. Andreou was formerly chief operating officer at Polestar. He acquired Printstore, based in Kingston-upon-Thames... Walstead Group invested in a short-grain web press for its Spanish gravure facility as part of a strategic plan to diversify the site’s offering... Koenig & Bauer’s sales for 2020 topped prior estimates at €1bn-plus, thanks to accounting changes that altered the group’s revenue recognition policy... Macfarlane Group acquired two firms in quick succession as it looked to boost its customer reach: GWP Group, a Wiltshire-based protective packaging manufacturing and distribution business, and Carters Packaging... UK post-press kit manufacturer Tech-ni-Fold appointed print finishing manufacturer Horizon as its sole distributor in Japan...