Company news Pensord takes on new operations director

Pensord takes on new operations director

Karl Gater joins Pensord

Specialist controlled circulation magazine printer Pensord has appointed a new Operations Director to the senior team, with experienced print man Karl Gater joining the visionary £11m turnover company.

Karl joins Pensord from Acorn Web Offset in Wakefield where he was Operations Manager. He now takes over responsibility for production at the sheet-fed business that employs 137 Pensord People and prints over 300 titles for some of the UK’s leading publishers.

A print graduate from the former Manchester Polytechnic, Karl says of his new role: “I have been aware of Pensord for some time as an enlightened, forward-thinking printer with an acute sense of what customers want, and feel this is an exciting opportunity for me. I spent a long time with the directors exploring the unique Pensord culture, and feel completely at home. I share the company’s people-focused approach to business - people make a company, and you have to look after them, take them with you and develop them to be successful. It’s great to find such a like-minded team, and in my short time here I feel my decision to move south has been the right one.

He joins a tight-knit senior team of Chief Executive Tony Jones, Financial Director Graham Lambert, and Commercial Director Darren Coxon. Talking of the new appointment, Tony Jones is convinced the company has found the best man for the job. He says: “This is a significant appointment for us at a key stage in our development. We have been looking for some time now to make sure we got the right individual to join us on the Board, someone who would assimilate into the specific culture here, and really grab the opportunity to work with us to drive the company forward. I believe we’ve found the right man in Karl.

Karl’s web background gives him an objective view of the sheet-fed process. He says: “The printing process may be slower than web, but it’s just as skilful, achieving higher overall quality, and the attention to detail is fantastic.

Married to a Research Scientist in the NHS, Karl is spending his spare time exploring the coastline of South Wales with a camera, and looking for an opportunity for golf, once he has the time!

Karl is one of the latest of the Pensord People to join the ranks of a company that was recently granted Investors in People status – placing them amongst less than 2% of all printers to be awarded this standard (based on information provided by the British Printing Industries Federation, and Investors in People UK).