INDUSTRY NEWS
May 2025
SME Member Integra announces DEALER GROUP MERGER
13 MAY 2025
Integra Business Solutions and Office Friendly are delighted to confirm that following the conclusion of tax and legal consultations, they have entered the final stages with shareholders to be able to complete the proposed merger. Subject to this and FCA approval, the ‘BLOC Group’ will be launched.
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Update from SME member Office Power - Navigating Challenges, Empowering Growth
12 MAY 2025
In an economic climate of rising costs and regulatory shifts, we understand the pressures our dealer network faces. As operational demands intensify, our mission is simple: to support, innovate and empower.
That’s why we’re proud to introduce PowerConnect, a next-generation email marketing tool tailored to the needs of our dealers. With automated flows, smarter segmentation and AI feedback assistent, PowerConnect turns data into action—helping you connect with customers more effectively and creatively.
At Office Power, we believe the right tools combined with a strong partnership mindset make all the difference. Our recognition as Service Provider of the Year is a testament to that commitment and the results we achieve together. Now more than ever, it’s about delivering value and navigating uncertainty with clarity and purpose, so let’s build what’s next together.
— Mark Heath, Managing Director Office Power
Liveryman Annie Couldrey writes about Rebel Stationery's one year anniversary
12 MAY 2025
It’s been quite the year for us: From launching at London Stationery Show 2024 to releasing not just our debut range of products, but also the follow-ups and our all-important Textile Collection, which in 2025 is supporting women weavers in Peru. Not only that, but Bex and George became Freemen of The Stationers’ in June, whilst Annie joined the Livery in February.
We were invited to join online marketplace Holly & Co within the first week of us opening our doors, traded at one of the country’s top Christmas markets, sold-out our first diaries, were sponsors of SohoLIFF, and most recently were made a finalist for Diary of the Year at Stationery Awards 2025!
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Updates from Leigh Stationers' Academy
9 MAY 2025
Updates from Leigh Stationers' Academy are now available on the Latest News page of the Academy's website.
Items this week include:
- A Message from the Principal
- Summer Examinations Begin for Years 11 & 13
- Year 10 Drama Students Explore Theatre Production at the Criterion
- Hansard College Student Sets Personal Best at Mini Marathon
- Weekly Sports Fixtures
- Year 8 Parents’ Evening Success
- MYP Parent Forum: Valuable Feedback to Inform Future Development
- Year 11 Careers Support Continues Ahead of Summer Examinations
- Work Experience Reminders for Years 10 & 12
- PSHE Update: Supporting Personal Development Across Years 7-10
- Free Circus Classes for Young People with SEND
Liveryman George Walkley (Sector Champion for the Publishing and Bookselling Sector launches new online newsletter
7 MAY 2025
George has started publishing a free weekly email newsletter on the very timely topic of AI and publishing as a way of sharing the expertise developed through his award-winning training and consulting work with the broader publishing community. If any Stationers are interested, you can sign up at https://www.georgewalkley.com/newsletter.
Liverymen Philip and Jeannette Warner's Company Warners Midlands take delivery of new equipment
5 MAY 2025
The latest in a series of investments, Warners Midlands Printers has announced it has taken delivery of new automation equipment for its bindery as it increases the efficiency of its plant.
Family-owned specialist printer Warners Midlands has announced it has begun the installation of a brand new Solema Mini Pluton Palletiser valued at €250,000.
In response to a changing work mix and wide variety of customer requirements, Warners says it has been constantly investing in its plant in Bourne Lincolnshire. Warners confirmed that having already improved infrastructure and reduced energy usage by more than 15%, it has been able to manage cost-increase pressures. Earlier this year the company says it acquired a Palamides 502 Stacker to boost automation and efficiency whilst providing the ability to provide paper strapping to customers. The company currently runs a bindery of Muller Martini Saddle Stitching, Perfect and PUR binding lines.
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HEIDELBERG UK partners with the Glastonbury Festival FREE Press
5 MAY 2025
This year, HEIDELBERG UK partners with the Glastonbury Festival Free Press. The Glastonbury Free Press, the Festival newspaper, is printed in the Theatre & Circus fields, along with a series of posters with a different theme each year, that are sold during the course of the festival.
The newspaper is now in its twelfth year of production. Tens of thousands of copies are printed, by hand, over the course of the festival each year. These copies are distributed for free around the festival at different locations and times. It utilizes a vintage 1950s 7-ton HEIDELBERG Cylinder Press to prepare and print the four-page Festival newspaper.
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Updates from Leigh Stationers' Academy
2 MAY 2025
Items this week include:
- A Message from the Principal
- Upcoming Public Examinations: Final Preparation Underway for Years 11 & 13
- Have Your Say: MYP Parent Voice Forums
- Interdisciplinary Learning Pilot Showcases MYP in Action
- Year 8 Parents’ Evening: Appointments Now Live for Booking
- GCSE PE Students Complete Practical Cycling Assessment at CycloPark
- Year 11 Careers and Post-16 Guidance Continues
- PSHE Update: Supporting Personal Development Across Years 7–10
- Supporting Digital Wellbeing: Resources for Parents Inspired by Adolescence
- Work Experience Reminders for Years 10 & 12
- Reward Celebrations Update: Recognising Module 4 Achievement
- KS3 Revision and Study Skills Programme – Expressions of Interest Invited
Highlands is pleased to announce Toni Rawlings has joined the team as Business Development Manager, South
1 MAY 2025
Effective 1 April 2025 Toni will manage dealer relationships across the South of England, supporting continued growth and deeper collaboration with Highlands’ valued partners.
“I am really excited to join Highlands in my business development role in the UK,” said Toni. “I’m looking forward to using my skills to develop close working partnerships and provide the best service possible to our valued clients to deliver meaningful growth.”
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Picon announced as this years sponsors for the Innovation Awards
1 MAY 2025
Picon, the leading industry trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers to the Printing, Papermaking and Paper Converting sectors, have been announced as this year’s Innovation Excellence Award lead sponsors.
READ MOREApril 2025
FESPA Global Print Expo
30 APRIL 2025
Update from SME member YPO - Three-year YPO and NSPCC partnership takes safer childhoods message on the road
30 APRIL 2025
To celebrate the renewal of a tie-up that has already raised a six-figure sum for the charity, four YPO delivery vans will feature special livery that includes a YPO-NSPCC joint logo with the message: “Creating Safer Childhoods”.
The vans also spread the word about how people can contact the charity’s Childline by calling 0800 1111. A larger-than-life illustration of two children against a background of YPO’s market-leading glue sticks bears the message, “This is more than just a glue stick …” as part of a wider campaign that supports education, raises awareness about the children’s charity’s Childline service, and supports the NSPCC through sales of the YPO product range.
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