Chance meeting leads to print works rescue.

Byline: Christopher Knox

MORE than 50 jobs have been saved at a Newcastle printing company bought out of administration by a market research firm, which now plans to bring back the 22 staff made redundant last month.

NorScreen, which trades as NSL Integrated Print Solutions, called in administrator Deloitte last January after being hit by the loss of an anticipated pounds 1m contract with electronics retailer Currys, and was then forced to make the cuts to its workforce to appeal to potential buyers.

After a number of failed attempts to find a buyer, the 37-year-old business and its 52 staff have now been saved by West Yorkshire firm Dark Peak Trading, which has vowed to get the business back into profit over the next few months as well as create positions for the axed workers.

It is the first time Dark Peak has invested in a printing works and it said it was planning to change the name to SpenaPrint and buy new equipment to help ensure it returned to full capacity.

Hopes of a buyer for the company, which also counted Woolworths as one of its customers and had a turnover of pounds 12.5m last year, were fading after two deadlines passed without word from the administrator.

Graham Spencer, an accountant who is now finance director and acting managing director until a permanent MD can be found, said: "I was visiting two of my clients in Newcastle who in turn were suppliers to NorScreen, and they were telling me how they had been hit by the news that the company was looking like closing.

"I immediately arranged a meeting with staff at the business and was more than impressed by the dedication they showed, despite the fact that their jobs were on the line. I made the decision there and then that it wasn't going to go under and am delighted that NorScreen's assets have now been taken on by Dark Peak Trading."

Mr Spencer said he would ensure that the printer worked more closely with marketing companies in the region to help drum up business and that its day-to-day running would be a team effort, rather than the top-down business model used by the previous owners.

"I am new to the printing industry and will be drawing on the skills and experience of the workers here to help get things moving in the right direction," he said.

"Despite the recession, there are a number of key businesses and sectors that are still looking for printed posters and billboards to ensure that they don't drop out of the public's consciousness."

I ... was more than impressed by the dedication they showed, despite the fact their jobs were on the line

CAPTION(S):

NEW LEAF David Moorhead, front, former operations director, and staff of printing company NorScreen, celebrate the saving of their jobs as it is bought from administration by Graham Spencer's Dark Peak Trading, which will change the name to SpenaPrint.