Rupert Middleton, Group Manufacturing Director of Trinity Mirror plc has been appointed as the next BPIF President.  Middleton was appointed by the BPIF’s National Council at its meeting yesterday (1 July) and will take office at the BPIF AGM next Tuesday (7 July). He will hold office for two years and succeeds outgoing President Mike Taylor, CEO of CPI Group UK.

Results from the BPIF’s latest quarterly Printing Outlook trading trends survey (March to May) show little change in printers’ fortunes, as trade remains sluggish. Spring proved slightly better than a dire winter period, with the gap narrowing between those experiencing deterioration in trade and those experiencing improvement. Nevertheless, over half of firms responding to the survey report that conditions have actually worsened.

Andrew Pindar, Chairman of Pindar, was honoured by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday 11 June 2009.  Andrew was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in recognition of his services to business and the community in the United Kingdom. 

Andrew is Chairman of G A Pindar & Son Ltd, the fourth generation, family-owned multi channel publishing company based in Scarborough and is a leading and respected figure in the industry around the world.  He sits on the board of the British Printing Industries Federation and has chaired the Printing Industry Forum for the last 5 years. In his role as Chairman of ‘Vision in Print’, Andrew has been a pioneering influence in helping businesses to reduce waste and improve efficiencies through lean manufacturing techniques across the UK. 

The BPIF publishes its 2008/9 Annual Review this week, ahead of its AGM on 7 July. (To download a PDF of the Annual Review click here)  

Entitled Achieving Results, the Review covers the twelve-month period ending 31 March this year. Sent to all BPIF members on 12 June, together with the calling notice for this year’s AGM, it reveals that the BPIF achieved a financial turnaround in profit before tax from a loss of £1 million in 2007/8 to a profit of £216k in 2008/9.  Turnover is up 9% year on year to £7.7 million. Commercial activities, at 57% of total turnover, are now a significant contributor to this, and membership income also increasing by 6%. Cost reduction also helped achieve the turnaround, with headcount down by 20% in the last 18 months and staff salaries frozen at 2008 levels.  The BPIF invested over £100K in improvements in its IT infrastructure to allow more staff to work remotely and spend more time on the road, enabling the number of offices to be reduced from six to three.