Dobson & Crowther Invests £1.5m in New Technology Backed By Lombard
Llangollen, 27th August 2008 – Dobson & Crowther, the UK's largest manufacturer of litho printed envelopes, has made a £1.5m investment in the production facilities at its North Wales site after securing funding from Lombard, the asset finance arm of The Royal Bank of Scotland ("RBS").
The company, which was established over 100 years ago and moved to Llangollen in 1946, has purchased a new printing press that will boost production capacity by 30% and enable them to compete for larger volume orders.
Dobson & Crowther produces 500 million litho printed envelopes each year for the direct mail industry and is also the market leading producer of horticultural seed packets. The company also manufactures photographic packaging products, recycling mailer bags and paper style pocket products used in a variety of industries.
Paul Holden, Managing Director at Dobson & Crowther, said:
"This investment is a key part of our future strategy to grow the business. The new press significantly increases our print capacity and means
we can compete for much larger volume work than we have in the past. We are confident this investment will bring an increase in sales."
Established in 1904, the company was acquired by the multi-national Smurfit Group in 1973 and changed its name to Smurfit Print UK. Paul and his fellow directors led a management buyout of in 2006 and reverted to the original Dobson & Crowther name. The business has a turnover of £11m and employs over 130 people.
Paul Evans from Lombard and Nick Evans from RBS Commercial Bank in Liverpool provided Dobson & Crowther with funding for the new press.
Paul Evans, Relationship Manager from Lombard, added:
"Dobson & Crowther is a well run business that is always looking to improve its performance by investing in new technology. This investment
is will undoubtedly strengthen their manufacturing process and help them maintain an edge in the market."
- Ends -
For more information, please contact:
Mark Lester
Media Manager, The Royal Bank of Scotland
Tel: + 44 (0) 7917 598 585
Email: mark.lester@rbs.co.uk
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
The RBS Group is one of the world's leading financial services companies providing a range of retail and corporate banking, financial markets, consumer finance, insurance, and wealth management services. RBS Group operates in over 50 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East serving more than 40 million customers and employing more than 170,000 people. In addition to the provision of a full range of banking services under The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest brands, RBS Group also includes ABN AMRO, Citizens Financial Group, Ulster Bank, Coutts Group, Direct Line and Churchill.
