Ward Knowles bought Northwest Continuous out of administration in February and subsequently rolled it into its Accrington headquarters. This came just four months after buying Manchester colour printer Armin & Butler.

Ward Knowles director Paul Greasley said: “The Preston facility has been closed and the business absorbed into the Accrington site. The existing forms presses have been moved and the customer base, which provided some £3m worth of business, combined into the Ward Knowles operation.”

Greasley said the company had been able to preserve the jobs of 21 of Northwest’s 35 staff, with the remainder opting not to travel. All six machines from Northwest are now up and running.

Meanwhile, Ward Knowles subsidiary Armin & Butler is set to take delivery of a new MAN Roland Osako stitching line in the next two weeks following a surge in business.

Greasley said: “We have been sending out in excess of £9,000 worth of finishing work a month, with printing outpacing our in-house finishing capacity. That kind of spend makes a purchase decision pretty straightforward.”

Greasley revealed the company was still open to acquisitions, particularly in digital, but any further deals would be shelved until January.

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TIMELINE
October 2006 Bought Manchester-based colour printer Armin & Butler
February 2007 Bought Preston-based forms business Northwest Continuous
June 2007 Closed Preston site and moved 21 staff and six machines to Accrington
October 2007 MAN Roland Osako stitching line due at Armin & Butler