Finishing equipment supplier goes limited after 34 years

A Cambridgeshire finishing equipment supplier celebrated 34 years in business on Saturday by becoming a limited company.

Elmstok became Elmstok Limited during a busy weekend updating its systems. It also introduced a new order and account processing system that will enable quicker order processing and despatch.

The Wisbech company sells cutting, binding, laminating and finishing equipment and has seven members of staff working with managing director Malcolm Starr and his son Robert Starr, who is now sales and marketing director.

He said: "Being a limited company will make things more professional. We’ve been doing well over the past few years, we’ve taken big steps in going computerised and we’ve got a good sales force so this is a further improvement.

"We want to grow even more and be number one."

Robert’s brother James was made company secretary but works elsewhere.

Starr senior has grown the company from a small concern run from the family home, also in Wisbech, to a successful business with two warehouses covering 2,044sqm, a showroom and a retail website Print Finishing Superstore, designed by Robert.

The company also extended its showroom last month.

He said he made the decision to change the company status on the advice of his accountant who said it was better for tax reasons and because he has a commercial property business, Malcolm Starr Property Investment, an unlimited company.

"The liability didn’t bother me but this keeps Elmstok separate. I am also taking a bit more of a back seat," he added.

"We have quite a lot of new accounts so we are doing something right. We have done very well in the recession and increased every year. We benefit from mostly having more stock than our competitors."

Elmstok sells direct to customers and wholesale to distributors and has customers in Australia, Dubai, Hong Kong the USA and across Europe. It sells across industry sectors, from the public sector to the financial and design industries.