Member Article

Behind the scenes at Paragon UK

The advent of the Internet heralded a dramatic shift for the print industry, and as increasing numbers of products go online, many firms have been forced to look beyond traditional services. Paragon UK prides itself on providing its customers with real value for money, and has firmly established itself as a market leader within the industry through a commitment to change and innovation.

Specialising in creating and developing bespoke documents for clients across the country, Paragon provides a wide range of products and services for a vast array of businesses.

Speaking to Ann Harrington, General Manager of Paragon UK and Steve Pollard, site manager at Paragon Uk’s Sunderland site, Bdaily has been finding out more about the firms plans for the coming year.

“We endeavour to offer customers a number of value-added services.” Ann explains. “And by doing this we can ensure that we keep up with our customers needs.”

As well as offering traditional long run printing services, the company is developing new security based products in a bid to attract new customers.

“We have security print accreditation, which allows us to print chequebooks, cheques and security pins.” says Steve.

“The product development team are also developing Stretchcode, which is a tamper evident product for the banking industry.”

The move into this area has been so successful that Paragon UK have now signed an agreement to become the UK distributor of Welltec pressure seal machinery, which compliments their current offering.

Following their recent success, the firm has now invested £1.5 million in new high tech machinery. While this may seem a hefty amount in the current economic climate, Ann believes that it is the right move for the company.

“It is a difficult time. but by investing in new products it means we can give our customers more.” Ann continues. “Ours is a difficult market and it is vital we keep up with the competition, so a £1.5 million investment is for them more than us.”

To keep up with developments in the industry, the firm recently launched an ecommerce platform, which helps customers to manage their requirements effectively online.

“This offers many new opportunities to customers by allowing them to place orders directly, which are then sent as instructions to the warehouse.” Steve explains.

“This allows real-time visibility of stock, and we believe that it adds real value, as well as reducing costs.”

This facility can also be integrated into IT systems already in place to create a bespoke package to meet the customers needs.

Moving forward, Ann and Steve are aware that the company will continue to be challenged as the market changes, but are ready to meet the technological challenges.

“Traditional products are changing, so we’re having to do things differently and as print runs get shorter, we are having to adapt.” says Ann. “However we determined to ensure we offer our customers excellent services and deliver on time.”

“I am proud of Paragon UK’s ability to reinvent itself, and while it’s a challenge, it’s one which helps us to positively develop and grow as a company.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .