Review of 2018: December

All the biggest stories from the past 12 months.

Print companies were braced for a possible no-deal Brexit as the government continued its descent into chaos... Two marketing bosses, Jeffrey Alexander Roberts and Anthony John Samuel Barry, were disqualified for a total of 12 years after causing their company to pay more than £830,000 to businesses they had connections with... Koenig & Bauer bought an 80% stake in the folder-gluer business of manufacturer Duran Machinery... VP Packaging was ordered to pay more than £21,000 by the Health & Safety Executive after an employee lost part of her finger while working on a machine... Direct Solutions set out the groundwork for an employee share trust, putting its future in the hands of its staff... Paragon Group acquired Debenhams’ in-house print operation Magenta Print & Display... GH Display acquired Hytner Exhibitions and was in the process of moving into larger premises... Heidelberg UK managing director Gerard Heanue revealed that he is stepping down from his role with the manufacturer next year to take early retirement... German paper mill Feldmuehle discontinued its production of graphic papers... OSG completed it takeover of Communisis... Hobs Group acquired Canon UK’s 3D printer reseller business... Service Graphics appointed Alex Penner, a business transformation expert, as the firm’s new MD... Print SMEs were pushing back against slow-paying clients...