INDUSTRY / NEWS 8 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk March / April 2024 - Issue 347 PrintMonthly printmonthly PrintMonthlyMagazine Following the closure of Arjowiggins and its historic paper mills including Stoneywood paper mill, which operated for over 250 years, the ramifications of the closure have hit news headlines. The latest development (at the time of writing) of the Stoneywood paper mill based in Aberdeen has meant dozens of former workers have won a legal action over claims they were made redundant without being officially consulted. In November 2023 the BBC reported that five former workers at the mill won separate legal action about their redundancy which led to an employment judging ruling that workers weren’t given the official 45-day consultation. A mass legal action was lodged by the Unite Union on behalf of workers of the mill which has now led to 75 compensation claims. Speaking to the BBC, Unite legal officer Mark Lyon said: "This is only the first in a series of judgements covering around 75 of the 300 members, and other claims are pending.” Problems in the Red Sea impact printers Supplier of inks and coatings to the print and packaging industries, Flint Group, has commented on the continuing issues across trade routes in the Middle East which are affecting the costs and delivery of goods within the industry. Flint Group recommends customers proactively plan stock levels in anticipation of increased lead times caused by current global issues. Attacks and unrest in the Middle East have meant growing concerns in regard to substantial increases in the costs of sea freight containers and their availability. Many sea freight carriers have introduced surcharges due to the requirement for vessels to re-route via the Cape of Good Hope instead of using the Rea Sea-Suez Canal. Doug Aldred, chief commercial officer at Flint Group, says: “Consistent with many businesses, our global supply chain, transit times, and costs have been impacted by developments in the Red Sea. "The redirection of sea freight around the Cape of Good Hope, bypassing the Red Sea-Suez Canal route, is anticipated to lead to extended transit times, ranging from two to six weeks. These changes also affect other sea freight routes, notably transatlantic crossings, due to the limited availability of containers and ships.” Flint Group says the situation has meant it will continue to evaluate costs carefully and evaluate the implementation of freight surcharges, where relevant. Flint Group has been affected by problems in the Red Sea-Suez Canal Arjowiggins’ Stoneywood mill operated through numerous world events such as WWII Workers win legal action Young People In Print initiative launched Young People In Print (YPIP), a new group created by several professionals in print and its associated industries, has been formed to bridge the gap between education and the workplace. Elizabeth Bowerman, head of UK sales at Stephen Austin & Sons has spearheaded the group along with Paul Stead of ASL Group, Joanna Stephenson of PHD Marketing, Kelvin Bell of Vpress, Lucy Swanston of Nutshell Creative, and Delroy Simmons of Dayfold. Bowerman, a long-term advocate of attracting young talent to the industry, says: “We are reaching out to schools and universities to enable students to see for themselves how amazing the print and packaging industries really are. “Sadly, our industry has an old-fashioned image, and there is very limited print or packaging education available today, apart from print apprenticeships, but even then, not all printers are using their levy to fund employees.” YPIP has been launched to promote the industry as a more dynamic, high-tech, innovative, connected, and exciting place to work. YPIP has been established by several professionals within the print industry Ricoh comments on ‘lack of technology adoption’ Ricoh UK has weighed in on the current conversations taking place in government and businesses regarding productivity and innovation in the UK. The comments come after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt stated on the Rest is Money podcast: "We are about 15% less productive than Germany, […] because they invest a lot more in plant and machinery around every single worker, so they are able to physically produce more, and they can, of course, be paid more as a result of that.” In response, Simon Isaacs, national sales director for Ricoh UK has highlighted the UK’s lack of tech adoption as one of the reasons businesses in the UK are lagging. Ricoh Europe research shows a notable misalignment between employee expectations of workplace technology and the reality provided by employers. 46% of UK and Irish employees believe their employers are lagging when it comes to adopting technology that would benefit them. Ricoh UK’s recent report The Automation Gap found that 77% of the printing industry wanted to automate to improve efficiencies, yet 52% of businesses are still running on legacy or manual systems. Ricoh UK has highlighted that 85% of businesses are not embracing AI technology enough By David Osgar By David Osgar By David Osgar By David Osgar
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