Welsh Printer's GBP5m Investment Programme

Wales' First Minister the Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan visited Cambrian Printers in Aberystwyth to celebrate the company's GBP5 million investment.

Wales' First Minister the Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan visited Cambrian Printers in Aberystwyth to celebrate the company's GBP5 million investment, which includes a GBP1million grant from the Welsh Assembly government.

The Aberystwyth-based family printing and publishing business is investing GBP5 million, which includes GBP1million support from the Welsh Assembly grant, as part of a three-year strategy designed to further increase its capacity and range of services.

The GBP1 million grant is allocated via the Regional Selective Assistance scheme.

Commenting, the First Minister said: "An investment of this magnitude is very significant in terms of the manufacturing in mid-Wales, dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises and small and medium-sized towns and business parks.

Ethical and environmentally conscious home grown companies, such as Cambrian Printers, play a major role in our economy in Wales.

We should be proud of that and we should promote it for all we are worth." Robert Read, chairman of Cambrian Printers responded: "We're delighted that the Minister has been able to visit us and gain first hand experience of our work here in Aberystwyth.

We are very proud of the investment we are making in the company and are excited at the prospect of employing even more people in our growing business." He added: "The threat from overseas is very real for the printing industry, particularly for a rural business like ourselves.

However, we envisage that our investment in technology, together with our ethical and environmental credentials and our commitment to quality makes us the printers of choice for business in Wales and the UK." By the end of the investment schedule (2008), Cambrian Printers will have expanded to a 100-strong work force.

The investment to date has included machinery such as the Muller Martinin Acoro A5 Perfect Binder - capable of binding a novel in under a minute and over 48,000 in a day, Heidelberg CD74 B2 five colour press, HP Indigo digital colour press, a hand-built Autobond Film Laminator and Muller Martini Saddle Stitch Binder.

During his visit to Cambrian Printers the First Minister toured the factory floor and officially launched production on the Muller Martini Acoro A5 Perfect Binder.

Robert Read continued: "Not only is the Welsh Assembly supporting us through the RSA investment, we are also responsible for printing some of their documents." To commemorate his visit to Cambrian Printers and as a means of counteracting the carbon footprint created by the celebrations, Cambrian Printers organised for the Woodlands Trust to plant 20 trees on its behalf.

Guests and visitors who attended the event were also encouraged to car share.

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