Review of 2021: February | Printweek

Riverside Printers acquired screen and wide-format specialist Action Screen Process… Royal Mail and CWU reached an accord over a new framework agreement about future working practices, job security and pay… Moonpig reported its strongest-ever trading week in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, but also found itself incurring the wrath of customers again after some of those orders failed to live up to expectations… Paragon Customers Communications launched a new large-scale apprenticeship programme during National Apprenticeship Week. In the same month it completed a £6m revamp of its mailing operations as part of a futureproofing strategy… FlyerAlarm stopped selling into the UK because of issues with delivering products here, post-Brexit… Historic printer Barnard & Westwood began its centenary year under fresh ownership after veteran retail entrepreneur Maurice Bennett CBE acquired the business. B&W had been owned by an Employee Benefit Trust since 2015… Peter Andreou was back in the industry with a fresh print acquisition just completed. Andreou was formerly chief operating officer at Polestar. He acquired Printstore, based in Kingston-upon-Thames… Walstead Group invested in a short-grain web press for its Spanish gravure facility as part of a strategic plan to diversify the site’s offering… Koenig & Bauer’s sales for 2020 topped prior estimates at €1bn-plus, thanks to accounting changes that altered the group’s revenue recognition policy… Macfarlane Group acquired two firms in quick succession as it looked to boost its customer reach: GWP Group, a Wiltshire-based protective packaging manufacturing and distribution business, and Carters Packaging… UK post-press kit manufacturer Tech-ni-Fold appointed print finishing manufacturer Horizon as its sole distributor in Japan…