Unprecedented success for UK printing technology company

Where The Trade Buys experienced 88% growth across 2017 thanks partly to an increased focus on growth markets and greater use of online print production operating systems. 

Based in southern and north-east England, the printing technology firm and supplier of offset book printing services has focused on reaching out to emerging brands and incorporating new technologies to achieve its success, according to managing director, Gary Peeling. Currently, the firm — alongside sister brand, Precision Printing — has approximately 10,000 print customers with 700 new clients coming on board every month. 

Significantly increasing its use of online print operations, Precision Printing is currently on course to achieve a turnover of £30 million by 2019 after accomplishing a £23 million turnover last year. Both Where The Trade Buys and Precision Printing utilise SiteFlow software in order to bring services online and make it simpler for customers to configure jobs they way they like. 

“We have a fast-growing website. It is reckoned that 17% of the £12.6 billion commercial print sector in the EU is online and that that will grow to 42% by 2020,” Peeling commented. 

As a whole, the future of the print sector looks bright over the next few years. We can expect a global annual growth of 2% in value by 2020 to reach a worth of approximately $814.5 billion by 2022, according to the Global Future of Printing report by Smithers Pira. According to the British Printing Industries Federation, the UK is the world’s fifth largest supplier of printed products.

Where The Trade Buys is also expanding overseas in order play a greater role in the country’s global success in the industry. 

“Where The Trade Buys will launch in Australia in March and we have a German printer using our technology under another name,” Peeling commented.