Keeping our eye on the ball!
There are very few jobs where employees are actively encouraged to watch sport on television…. But keeping an eye on the tennis at Edgbaston, Queens in London and again at Eastbourne was a prerequisite for some of our account management and studio staff.
APS Group is managing promotional literature – everything from daily programmes to ticket wallets, hospitality badges and folders – for the Lawn Tennis Association.
Account managers and studio artworkers burnt the midnight oil as they raced against the clock, after evening play had finished, to ensure that all the material required for the following day’s events was delivered on time.
APS’s new digital asset system proved to be a real helping hand and ensured that the right file was always used in the right document. The main benefit of the system is that everyone involved in the production process – from photographers and copywriters through to printers – had access to the same information which simplified what could have been a very complex job.
Using a unique log on, Getty Images uploaded its pictures and copywriters uploaded their articles on to the APS Server to enable artwork to be produced in pdf format for approval by the Lawn Tennis Association - all before the hundreds of thousands of programmes were printed throughout the night in time for the opening of the tournaments.
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Digital is being reshaped for the future
Digital is undergoing a major revamp to meet the growing requirements of the
print-on-demand and personalisation market.
APS has decided to make significant investment in this area of the business and is creating a new dedicated litho and digital small print division equipped with its own artwork studio and finishing equipment.
The future for APS digital is being able to offer web-to-print software, and a number of solutions are currently under review to enable APS Digital to be able to offer customers a complete end-to end web-to-print workflow and management system.
When fully operational, customers will be able to submit their orders over the Internet in a secure environment 24/7 from virtually anywhere.
Those, however, without access to the web will still be able to phone or fax their orders to the digital studio to be processed.
The new system offers a number of benefits to the customer: jobs will be tracked easier and work will be delivered to the customer much quicker.
New contract wins:
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council’s contract with APS to supply print and copying services went live at the beginning of April.
APS won the business in a competitive tender process after the Council decided that it wanted to outsource its print and copying services. The contract is for two years with an option to extend for a further year.
APS has also been successful in winning a contract with the Lawn Tennis Association, the result of a recommendation from AEGON UK which is sponsoring the leading tennis tournaments in the UK this summer.
APS was invited to take part in a tender which it won in its own right and will be producing promotional material for the AEGON Championship at the Queen's Club, the Classic at Edgbaston and the International at Eastbourne.
Changing course for charity
Rick Snelson, APS Director, and Beth Kellegher, receptionist, are taking part in a 300k cycle ride from London to Amsterdam in August to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Originally they were going to take part in the Cork to Dublin route but due to a lack of support, nationally, this race has been cancelled. Being determined to raise money for the charity, they have decided to transfer to the three-day London to Amsterdam event which starts on Friday 28 August.
The sponsorship money raised will go towards providing nurses, funding hospices across the country and research into finding a cure for cancer.
The dynamic duo each need to raise £1,350 in advance of the event, a condition set by Marie Curie. Anyone who would like to help with sponsorship is asked to contact either Beth or Rick direct.
March 2009
Warehouse operation impresses visitors
APS logistics recently hosted a visit for a group from Nigeria currently involved in the setting up of a Cusson’s state-of-the-art warehouse operation in Nigeria.
Cussons has been doing business in Nigeria for more than 100 years. Two years ago it invested heavily in the area, developing its logistics operation and creating a national distribution centre in Ikorodu on the outskirts of Lagos. This will become active in May 2009 and will supply goods to 26 depots throughout Nigeria.
During a recent visit to the UK, the operations team from Nigeria requested a brief tour of a site currently utilizing Jungheinrich equipment, the sole supplier for the mechanical handling equipment at the Ikorodu centre. It was decided the best place to do this would be at APS which operates similar equipment in a brand new warehouse facility.
Mike Ferguson, area sales manager for Jungheinrich, said after the scheduled 20-minute meeting, which lasted nearly two hours: “The visitors from Nigeria were very impressed with the site and had a lot of questions professionally answered by Paul Cairns, logistics operation manager, and his team.
“I was very impressed with the time that the APS team took in supporting Jungheinrich and would not hesitate to take any prospective customers on a visit.”
October 2008
APS meets the testing quality standard
‘An exceptional result’ - that was the conclusion of the auditors following their recent
review of APS’s ISO 9001 quality management system.
They carried out four assessments over eight days and found only one minor
non-conformance.
The auditors who spent six days scrutinising the systems and processes at both head office in Cheadle Heath and the National Distribution Centre, one day at Manchester city centre and a further day in Edinburgh were impressed with what they saw and the level of understanding and commitment demonstrated by all staff.
In Manchester the feedback received from the auditor was excellent, the result of ‘comprehensive knowledge and having processes and systems in place.' In Edinburgh a different auditor noted that there was a 'sense of integrity about the system' and said that he 'had no concerns whatsoever' about recommending APS for full accreditation.
Steve Goodall, Production Director, said after the assessments: "I would like to thank all staff for the hard work and professionalism that was evident to all the assessors which clearly helped us earn such a glowing report.
"It's a great achievement to have our quality system accredited and the high standards we have set should now form the foundations for our Quality Management System and our continuous improvement programme. It is essential that we continue to build on this success with everyone in the company having an important role to play as we go forward."
April 2008
Origin Creative Design & Loines Furnival
The emphasis is on craft and quality as two of the North West’s major design consultancies merge to offer a unique creative and strategic design service across the UK and in Ireland.
Origin Creative Design, part of the APS Group has announced a merger with Loines Furnival, the Cheshire based design and communications consultancy.
Origin Creative Design is one of the leading creative design companies in the North West with a number of major awards to its name since it was first established in 1997. The agency has a blue-chip client list that includes Bentley, Brother, Royal Doulton & Cheshire Building Society.
Creative Director, Mark Bottomley, today commented: “The combined businesses will bring exceptional benefits to clients including a strengthened creative team, a wider skill set, a new media and strategic design capability as well as a strong CSR and corporate communication offering.
Mark explained: “Both businesses are founded on trust and mutual respect and, as a consequence, both enjoy many successful long-term relationships with their clients. Our plan is to consolidate our expertise, continue to support our existing clients with high quality creative and strategic services whilst reaching new clients and supporting them in a similar way.”
Established in 1982, Chester-based Loines Furnival is one of the leading design and communications businesses in the region. The agency specialises in CSR, branding, corporate communications, wayfinding and digital. Clients include United Utilities, University of Liverpool and British Land
Loines Furnival Director, John Furnival said: “Following a successful twelve-month period of collaboration between the two companies we have identified a unique opportunity for a top flight agency that puts client services at the forefront of its operation, but at the same time delivers strategic communication solutions in a highly creative way.”
He added: “We understand our clients face increasing pressure to balance the delivery of integrated marketing and communication projects in a cost effective manner. The coming together of Loines Furnival and Origin is extremely timely in helping our clients achieve this. It enables us to respond smartly, effectively and to be flexible.”
The merger is effective immediately and the new agency will be called Origin Creative Design. The enterprise will be based in new premises in the Orion Business Park, Cheadle Heath, Cheshire and the transfer is expected to be completed by 30 June.