Yorkshire Forums' Wide Ranging Topical Issues

A series of forums for buyers and sellers of print will take place across Yorkshire and the Humber (UK) this month.

A series of forums for buyers and sellers of print will take place across Yorkshire and the Humber (UK) this month.

Topics such as virtual enterprise networks (VENs), print farming and cost reduction will be on the agenda for the networking events organised by Print Yorkshire, the partnership between Yorkshire Forward and the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF).

Virtual enterprise networks will be debated in Hull when supply chain management specialist, Brian Oakley, will ask if printers should collaborate to win larger contracts and combine resources to compete with print management companies.

Up for discussion in Barnsley is the issue of training and careers in print.

Since its last meeting in South Yorkshire, Print Yorkshire's Training and Careers Advisory Group (TACDAG) has been working closely with the Learning and Skills Council, Business and Enterprise South Yorkshire and Thomas Rotherham College, to put together a strategy to help fill the skills gap in the county.

Delegates will get the chance to hear about the group's progress from TACDAG chairman John Hamilton and see a demonstration of Printdynamics, Polestar's interactive training programme.

'Print farming - a threat or opportunity?' - is another topical issue that will be debated.

According to the organisation, whether printers like it or not, print farming is a fact of life in the industry so Print Yorkshire's Robert McClements and Tom Pindar, the lifetime president of the Pindar organisation, the UK's largest family-owned print company, will lead the debate on how to manage the challenge and reap the rewards.

Delegates will also have the opportunity of touring Pindar's premises in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Finally in Leeds, Adam Wheatley, an expense reduction analyst with specific experience in the printing industry will reveal the secret to cost reduction and Dennis Marshall of Storey Evans will outline how the service worked for his company.

"We hope as many printers, suppliers and print buyers as possible will attend these events as, from experience, we know that they provide real new business opportunities and often result in solutions to specific problems," said Robert McClements, Print Yorkshire's senior executive.

The events will take place at - The Deep Business Centre, Hull at 8am, September 20, (topic - virtual enterprise networks); Tankersley Manor, Barnsley at 6pm, September 21 (topic - training and careers in print); Pindar, Eastfield, Scarborough at 4pm, September 22 (topic - print farming); Leeds United, Elland Road at 6pm, September 27 (topic - expense reduction).

Printers and print buyers across the Yorkshire and the Humber region will also be attending Print Yorkshire's major event of the year - Showcase 2005, which takes place on October 6 at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, providing the opportunity for the region's printers and allied industries to network with key buyers and showcase their skills and expertise.

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