Support Package For Yorkshire Printers

Printers from Yorkshire and Humber (UK) have welcomed a package of practical and financial help from Print Yorkshire to help them adopt lean methods of manufacturing.

Printers from Yorkshire and Humber (UK) have welcomed a package of practical and financial help from Print Yorkshire to help them adopt lean methods of manufacturing.

Print Yorkshire has formed a partnership with independent industry forum, Vision in Print (ViP) and the Yorkshire and Humber Manufacturing Advisory Service (YH-MAS) to help printers learn the methods, which will radically improve efficiency and thereby profitability by eliminating waste in every area of production said the organisation.

Sheffield-based printer, Northend, has already started down the route of lean manufacturing, which is the term used to describe how companies like Toyota work.

It is a role model for many manufacturers that wish to emulate Toyota's level of quality and costs.

Strategic development manager at Northend, Dorothy Betts said: "We've started down the lean process route and although we're just at the beginning we're very encouraged that we'll see positive results from it.

Vision in Print started by carrying out a two-day diagnostic session and followed it with a series of workshops for employees, in order to advise them about what they should be doing to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

We believe in best practice and had no choice but to look in to lean methods of manufacturing because the industry is getting ever more competitive.

We simply have to drive down costs for improved efficiency and profitability." Ryedale Group, based at Kirbymoorside in North Yorkshire, will soon benefit from a two-day diagnostic session so the company can compete not only with printers throughout the UK but also worldwide.

Managing director of Ryedale Group, John Buffoni explained: "Like all other companies, we're in this business to make a profit and it's getting harder to do when there's a constant stream of new entrants and new innovations in to the market.

By adopting lean methods we hope to increase productivity, improve customer service and ensure our systems are slicker so we can take on more business and compete with the rest of the world.

We'll also take advantage of the benchmark index so we can get a very thorough perspective of the business, going beyond the core operational areas and addressing those such as marketing and finance." Access to the improvement programme for smaller companies is via a diagnostic assessment, free with Print Yorkshire.

There will be a two-day programme for companies with over 50 employees, where Print Yorkshire will contribute 50 per cent of the funding worth GBP550.

The organisation said that the purpose of the diagnostic is to isolate a specific problem or best practice opportunity where process improvement activity by ViP will deliver significant benefit at minimum delay.

Director at Print Yorkshire, Mike Hopkins said: "The printing industry is something of a hybrid, being both a manufacturing and a service industry and for a company to succeed it must excel at both.

It must also learn from the best and use techniques that have proved successful throughout the world." Print Yorkshire, which is a partnership between Yorkshire Forward and the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF), said it aims to ensure that the print and printed packaging sector in Yorkshire and Humber maintains its position as a major national player, builds upon its successes.

By sharing best practice, encouraging training and development, seeking out funding and enhancing networking opportunities Print Yorkshire added that is seeks to create the most productive and profitable print cluster in the UK, one that matches the best internationally.

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