Acquisition

After many months of arduous due diligence, the Napier team from Left Hand Press finally acquired 90% of Pressmark Pressings. This project has the codename, Sandstone. The group, which Alan Gardner has led through the acquisition, brings a wealth of experience to Pressmark. Chairman Les Wilkins will lead the team, bringing exceptional experience from the press industry, which has evolved over 40 years. In addition, Les has headed up OEM plants for Rover and BMW. In addition, he has managed significant tier 1 plants and worked as a consultant for automotive OEMs in Japan and China. When questioned about the acquisition, Les said, “Pressmark is an excellent company with many opportunities.

I am looking forward to working with the team to develop this further. We want to build on the excellent reputation of Pressmark for Quality, Cost and Delivery.”

Heading up the executive team will be Chief Executive John Nollett. He brings a wealth of knowledge from the manufacturing sector. John is directly involved in the design, manufacture and assembly for automotive OEMs. On speaking with John, he talked about the opportunity saying, “I have been fortunate enough to have spent some time with the existing team at Pressmark, learning about their capabilities. I can honestly say that the company has the fundamental structure needed to develop this business further. The team here are great! I look forward to developing strong relationships with them and our Customers and suppliers to drive this business forward.” He went on to say, “This is a great acquisition. Based in Atherstone, Warwickshire, we are ideally situated to fulfil the needs of the UK manufacturing sector. There is a great automotive and manufacturing heritage locally within the Midlands Engine. It will be fantastic to draw upon that experience as we grow our business here in the Midlands.”

Finally, Alan Gardner brings significant change management experience and financial expertise, where he worked at the partner level within KPMG. Alan has had a lot of experience working alongside manufacturing businesses. Holding the position of Finance Director, Alan spoke of the deal, saying, “Pressmark is an ideal acquisition for Left Hand Press, as it brings a variety of large bed presses with ample free capacity to grow the business, not only in the automotive sector, where it is strong but other sectors too. With our financial support, along with the experience that both John and Les bring to the team, I am excited about the future for Pressmark.”