Warners Midlands plc, Bourne

Warners Midlands plc are specialist printers of magazines, journals, brochures and catalogues. This is one of Britain's prestige printing companies but it sprang from humble beginnings.

In 1927 the late Lorenzo Warner, together with his sister Lily and brother Ernie, founded Warners Midlands Ltd, a company specialising in newspaper distribution. The first shop was situated in Abbey Road, Bourne, but by 1936 the company outgrew these premises and acquired a shop in West Street that also included a printing works. The rest, as they say, is history.

The company prospered and today occupies a 10-acre site centred on the Old Maltings further along West Street, employing 500 people. Warners is now the seventh biggest printing and publishing plant in the UK, generating more than £50 million in annual revenue and comprising origination, including scanning and computer to plate facilities, printing, binding and stitching, individual mailing and bulk distribution with its own fleet of vehicles.

It boasts a comprehensive range of printing machinery, incorporating the very latest technology and has built up a wealth of expertise in handling print and publishing jobs of all sizes, from reprographics through to distribution and mailing. In 1999, the company invested over £2.5 million in their latest printing machine, the new Heidelberg M-600 full-width heatseat web press, one of the largest expansion projects undertaken so far.

Their clients include the John Lewis Partnership, Wilmington Publishing and the British Heart Foundation. Continued investment has enabled Warners to maintain its unique status within the short to medium run market. In 1996, the company acquired the ISO 9002 quality guarantee and the Investors In People recognition at their first attempt in 1998, the advantages including improved aspects of performance and teamwork, all of which enhances the business relationship with clients.