James Cropper : STRONG START TO 2016 FOR JAMES CROPPER

11th January 2016

British master papermaker James Cropper has kicked off 2016 with two new senior appointments and a number of new business prospects as it prepares for a busy year ahead.

The company recently appointed Norbert Spiegel as regional sales manager of Germany, Austria and Switzerland to focus and grow the business in these countries. Norbert has gained a wealth of knowledge from a career in the paper industry and will be based in Cologne, reporting to export sales director Andy Smith.

Peter Scott, an experienced quality professional with a proven track record of transformational leadership in the delivery of world class product quality, joins the business to head up quality and technical activities. As quality and technical director, Peter will report to Dave Watson, COO.

The new recruits join two other senior managers who joined James Cropper in 2015 - Mick Coward, senior development manager, and Nick Shepherd, UK and Ireland sales director - to help drive key objectives forward.

Phil Wild, CEO of James Cropper, said: 'We're expecting 2016 to be a big year for James Cropper so having the right staff in place is imperative. We welcome Norbert and Peter to the team and look forward to seeing them progress as the company continues to grow.'

The company has recently secured working relationships with businesses from a range of sectors. Online handbag retailer Zesh is among the clients in the luxury arena recently added to James Cropper's order books - for which it is supplying a paper from the award-winning 'Cocoa' collection for gift and presentation packaging.

Michael Dong, founder of Zesh, said: 'People don't tend to associate online orders with luxury and we wanted to challenge that. Packaging is an integral part of the shopping experience and can make all the difference, so finding the right match was crucial.

'When we were introduced to James Cropper, we immediately recognised synergies with our own brand and knew they'd be able to provide a packaging solution that would effectively communicate the high standards to which we craft our products. We look forward to working with them in 2016.'

Over 2015, James Cropper recruited a total of 43 new members of staff and saw overall group profit before tax grow by 37 per cent on the previous year. With high demand for the mill's new, innovative paper ranges for 2016 - which include a collection of food contact papers - the company expects to maintain this growth in a competitive climate.

Phil added: 'We're in a really strong position at the moment and can't wait to get stuck into 2016. The company has experienced year-on-year growth, and with new staff offering fresh insight and input, and a promising number of lucrative projects in the pipeline, we expect to continue on this upward trajectory over the next 12 to 18 months.'