Anglo tops gala hit parade with number one spot
Having overcome three recessions, Covid and fire, Anglo Printers is pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved
Anglo Printers hit a high note at the Irish Print Awards when it took the coveted Print of the Year 2023 honour for Róisín Murphy — Hit Parade, a deluxe version vinyl gatefold sleeve.
After 41 years in business, this is the first time that Anglo Printers has won the overall award. The company took three other print gongs, striking gold for best use of print, and best graphic design and print collaaboration and silver for sheetfed colour offset printer of the year.
Company Details
Anglo Printers Limited
Year it was founded: 1983
Number of staff: 52
Why it is in the news: It was selected as overall winner Print of the Year, 2023 and received three other accolades at the Irish Print Awards.
The awards are just accolades for the investment made and commitment to the growing packaging sector, and encourage the team to keep focused on winning new business and pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved in sustainable print packaging using both conventional and UV Print technologies, according to Padraic Kierans, MD.
When founded, the business primarily offered B2B print, stationary print, and event printing for the horse racing industry with race programmes which Anglo Printers still produce for Horse Racing Ireland. It now also produces national and international sports programmes for other leading publishers and sports bodies.
Based just off the M1 at the Mary McAleese Cable Bridge in Drogheda, the print facility is the envy of many in the sector with a 30,000 sq ft premises including refurbished offices of 4,000 sq ft.
Anglo Printers provides a full in-house service of graphic design, lithographic, digital and wide format printing for printed packaging buyers, government departments, semi-state agencies, leading indigenous Irish SMEs and multinational businesses
“Our ability to manage change sets us apart. Our approach to how we deal with that change in a narrow timeframe is documented, process driven, and it works. We are not just reliable but super reliable, a great team committed to our customers in the delivery of excellence,” said Kierans.
During Covid the business pivoted under the young and ambitious management team towards printed packaging with the support of Enterprise Ireland. This resulted in a significant boost for the company which provides innovative and sustainable printed product packaging to businesses in the food, drinks, beauty and music sectors, boosted by the surge in vinyl records internationally.
Investments were made in R&D and capital machinery to develop record sleeve solutions for the sector. Production manager Donnach Callan, who has a passion for vinyl and print, worked closely with vinyl manufacturers to achieve award-winning sleeves, culminating in the harvesting of new export accounts.
Certified by the National Standards Authority of Ireland, it is ISO 9001:2015 Quality and ISO14001:2015 accredited; and is also certified by SGS for FSC and PEFC paper chain of custody, which has played a key part in the growth of the business, according to Kierans.
The perpetual focus on quality and excellence has driven the management team to achieve certification as Ireland’s first carbon balanced printer, certified by the World Land’s Trust, Kierans said. The company is a member of the Two Sides Campaign which promotes the sustainable and attractive attributes of print, paper and paper-based packaging and calls out the practice of greenwashing in the economy.
On recent World Earth Day 2024 Anglo Printers announced its environmental project: ‘Project Green Machine’, unveiling the installation of over 600 solar panels at the print production facility in Drogheda.
The company is a member of ISME, Dublin Chamber, Fingal Chamber and the local Drogheda & District Chamber of Commerce in the north-east where Kierans served as president from 2011 to 2013. In 2019 he was rewarded for his commitment to the local business community, his work on the Fleadh Cheoil in Drogheda in 2018 and 2019, and the success of Anglo Printers, with a lifetime achievement award.
“Having survived three recessions, Covid, and a fire in 2022 which damaged the east wing and took out some machinery, the management team is hugely positive for the future,” said Kierans.
A R&D team will be in Dusseldorf for Drupa, the world’s largest print trade show, in May to review the print software, hardware and product developments available to further enhance the business, said Peter Kierans, sales director. “We look forward to working with our customers in introducing these technologies to help them achieve their print, packaging and sustainability goals.”
