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TECHNOLOGY REPORT

ing a fact, in the real world of my busi- corrects the question, noting that “the UK did not leave Europe, ture from the EU, Jamm had set up a
ness it changes nothing; the foot is we left the EU, and that is a big difference. I voted for Brexit and subsidiary in Europe to handle work
always on the gas regardless of how hard would do it again tomorrow.” He says this not because he’s anti- there. However, she says “almost as soon
or easy trading conditions are.” Europe – he’s very much pro-Europe. However, he says that he is as it was established and work trans-
Hill is pessimistic that the recent “very,” emphasis on that word, “against being governed by ferred to ensure we would not lose our
change of government will lead to a sig- Brussels”. European client base, there it was:
nificant improvement in the economy; Cost pressures are a significant concern for Hill. He states: “A Covid, and all the hard work we had put
he emphatically states that he has no simple year-on-year analysis of our cost base tells me we are pay- in was threatened.”
confidence in any political party: “They ing a lot more for utilities, rates, etc. Our margin was affected last But the company didn’t falter. Says
are like bad salespeople: talk a good year because of this, and also market price pressure – postage and Shackleton, “we did maintain our
game but deliver very little or nothing. paper costs going up really put strain on our channel which is European clients, and have added to
“As long as I can remember every elec- understandable from our customers’ perspective, they have to them in the years since 2022. We are
tion manifesto has talked about sorting spend their budgets wisely.” still feeling the effects, but the signs for
the NHS, and yet it has consistently got Despite cost concerns, Hill states that in general payment times future stability are good, and we are able
worse regardless of who is in power. are good. That said, he’s had “a few clients push out a bit further to make plans.”
Now it’s about net migration.” He’s of than ideal, but we have supported them to trade out of their diffi-
the view that no amount of money will culties which, he says, pays off in the long term”. He makes the Going forward
seemingly fix either problem and that, in point that “if someone wants 90 days terms then they can go Like other printers Shackleton is look-
his words, “the government needs a Pep somewhere else”. That said, he comments that “even large corpo- ing at the future of the printing industry
Guardiola”. For the record, he’s not a rations can cause frustration, but it’s never a big problem”. in general and her client base in particu-
Manchester City fan. It’s pertinent to note that Hill describes Eight Group as “a cash- lar. She explains that the company is
Hill tries to be fair when saying that rich business,” not requiring much finance and so has little to do heavily involved in the not-for-profit sec-
he’s seen some good ideas put forward with the financial markets. tor, providing services including direct
by politicians. However, he says that thinks interest rates will eventually come down but “it will be slow mail and knows that the move to online
He seems sanguine in terms of interest rates, saying that he
A matter of confidence one exception that springs to mind: the and steady, which hopefully will help businesses that need to bor- future decades. “We are investing,” she
fundraising is going to escalate over
“rarely do they come to fruition, with
says, “in developing new services that we
Kickstart scheme during Covid”. For
row”.
him, this “was a great idea, and one that
worked for us as we still have the two Hill’s business confidence can add to our current offering. We’re
also looking at the ways we can maxim-
great trainees we took on via that So how does Hill feel about the future? In summary – positive. ise the use of our building to bring down
scheme”. As he says: “The economy and sector could be on its knees, but operating costs.”
Fundamentally, Hill is of the view that I’d still be confident. That might sound arrogant, which it isn’t In her view, the future back in 2022
“politicians are salespeople and are only meant to, but like the word ‘recession’ you can talk yourself up or was imperilled by one rather brief gov-
focused on their own constituency when down when focusing too much on outside factors you cannot con- ernment. On this Shackleton remarks
it counts; they need to get out and talk to trol”. that during “the thankfully short tenure
more businesses and understand the var- He says that the company very much “focuses on its own des- of prime minister Truss we were stag-
ious challenges”. tiny, which means I have a very motivated team”. gered by how quickly the implications of
He carries on to say that he’s been to government decisions were landing on
Downing Street for a meeting with a spe- Jamm Print & Production our doorstep”. By this she explains that
cial advisor as part of an IPIA group. As Liz Shackleton, managing director of Jamm Print & Production, Jamm was building its business in
he says, “it was a great experience, but says that business has been “a bit of a roller-coaster ride” in recent Europe, and the pound crumbled – “it
I’ve not seen any follow-up to that con- years – what with Brexit and Covid, both of which affected the cost us a lot more than we had budg-
versation yet in terms of what can the company: “We lost money and had to rebuild sales once the coun- eted”.
government do more to support the try started to re-open.” And the allied ongoing need for sup-
print and paper industries”. However, she is looking to this financial year being the start of port to help the recovery from the dou-
the company’s recovery. ble-whammy of Brexit and Covid was
Prospects for growth and the econ- made more important as “borrowing
omy in general A double blow became so very difficult for small com-
Like everyone else in business, Hill In her experience the impact of Covid on printers was stagger- panies, and so expensive” she says.
craves constancy and says that until ing: “So many sectors had to simply shut up shop, and the knock- Different standpoints invariably give
there is global stability – referring to on effect for us was significant; like so many other companies we different responses. But one thing that
Ukraine and Gaza – “the economy will are still recovering from the shockwave.” does emerge from these three industry
stay flat with very little growth.” Jamm has a significant number of customers in Europe. As a players is that there is a firm belief in the
On the question of Europe and result, Brexit – followed by the Covid pandemic – knocked the future and a positive mindset doesn’t do
whether the UK should seek to rejoin, he company for six, Shackleton says. In the run-up to the UK’s depar- any harm.

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