LORD GEORGE OPENS £1.2 MILLION HIGH-TECH PRINT FACTORY IN CORNWALL

Lord George, former Governor of the Bank of England, has opened a new £1.2 million high-tech printing factory in Launceston on October 14th.

KCS Trade Print Ltd is a specialist printing company producing secure PIN (personal identification number) mailers for the UK and international banking industry and a range of other specialist printing products.

Since 1990 the company had been based on three separate sites in Launceston, but has now relocated to a brand new 11,000 sq ft state-of-the-art factory on the Southgate Technology Park in the town.

The expansion has been supported by the South West of England Regional Development Agency, the Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and Lloyds TSB bank.

KCS managing director Terrye Jones, who lives in Truro and is one of the few women managing directors in the print industry, said: "This is a fantastic new building and puts KCS in an ideal position to grow our customer base.

"We produce 50% of all PIN mailers for the UK market, more than 12 million a year, and have several international banking clients in Ireland, Saudi Arabia and Canada. If you've recently received a new PIN from your bank or building society, the chances are we printed the form it came on. With the advent of new chip and pin technology, we see this as a growth area. We have also invested £250,000 in new equipment imported from America that will give us even more flexibility.

"With so many of our customers in the banking industry Lord George seemed the ideal person to open our new factory and we are delighted to welcome him."

Lord George, who lives in Cornwall and was Governor of the Bank of England from 1993 to 2003, said: "KCS is an excellent example of a Cornish company that has carved out a niche in a fiercely competitive global market and grown its business year-on-year.

"With a workforce with an average age of just 31 it is a young and dynamic company and the investment in new facilities shows its commitment to further growth."

The £1.2 million investment is part of a three-year development programme by KCS. It hopes to grow its annual turnover from the current £1.7 million to £5 million in the next five years.

The company now employs 24 people having taken on six new staff including two recent graduates from Exeter and Plymouth Universities who have been employed through the Objective One funded Unlocking Cornish Potential scheme.

It places graduates with Cornish companies to help the growth and development of local businesses.

The new KCS factory was part funded by Objective One which contributed £678,000 towards the £2.3 million cost of building four new office and production units at Southgate Technology Park, which was developed by Launceston based developer Newmark Projects Ltd.

The new units have been independently confirmed as among the most environmentally friendly in Cornwall. The KCS factory features triple-glazed, Argon-filled rooflights, double insulation, timber from sustainable resources, rainwater harvesting and reuse systems and short-flush toilets.

Carleen Kelemen, director of the Objective One Partnership, said: "Cornwall needs quality workspace tailored for growing high tech companies. KCS is an excellent example of such a company and I'm delighted that our investment not only helped fund their new premises, but has also helped them take on two new graduates."

The South West RDA has also supported KCS's expansion from the Selective Finance for Investment (SFI) scheme, which it administers on behalf of the Government. Stephen Bohane, head of operations for the South West RDA in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: "Part of our role is to support high-quality businesses to achieve growth and secure long term skilled employment and we were pleased to be able to offer KCS funding support for their expansion."

The funding package for the technology park and the SFI funding application for KCS, plus all project management and the design of the new factory was handled by Truro based Business Location Services Ltd.

For more information contact Jason Clark of Deborah Clark & Associates Ltd on 01872 275276 or email: jason@dclark.co.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Southgate Technology Park through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).