LumeJet celebrates Swiss partnership

COVENTRY-based printing firm LumeJet has secured a strategic partnership with a Swiss photobook printing and finishing manufacturer.

The tie-up with Imaging Solutions will enable LumeJet to cut production costs by up to half on a new system that targets the layflat photobook sector.

The sector has seen compound 40% growth over the last few years, and the proliferation of photobooks has inspired other markets to use the format for themselves. Notably this has led to rapid growth in markets such as corporate pitch books, property prospectuses, look books and coffee table books.

Rainer Bauer, CEO of Imaging Solutions, said working with LumeJet created an opportunity penetrate a market where the company had not been active in the past.

“It is a very exciting strategic partnership that feels like a hand-in-glove fit,” he said.

Startup Direct joins forces with Barclays

A NEW partnership between Startup Direct and Barclays is providing free mentoring to local entrepreneurs

A group of five entrepreneurs were selected to attend an advisory session at the ‘Barclays Brain Trust’ event at the bank’s Snowhill headquarters recently.

During the event, each of the entrepreneurs benefited from their own personal mentoring session with 22 Barclays executives who offered advice on areas such as strategy, finance and marketing.

The five local start ups taking part were children’s wear company, Star51, construction website, YouKwoteMe, Solesee, which has developed a foot health checker used in the detection of diabetes, hair extension company The Good Hair Show and Frinter, a free printing service for students.

Wolseley sees the light with green project 

AN environmental project from buildings supplies firm Wolseley UK is set to save enough electricity to power 303 homes every year. 

Replacing 4,359 light fittings with LED lighting at the firm’s national distribution centre (NDC) in Leamington Spa will achieve annual energy savings of £100,000.

Wolseley UK was awarded a grant of £50,000 towards the project from the Department of Energy and Climate Change under the Electricity Demand Reduction (EDR*) pilot scheme

Just 18 companies, including Network Rail, BAE Systems and Tata Steel UK, met the criteria for the EDR scheme, which will fund 10% of Wolseley UK’s LED project.

CamNutra delighted by rapid investment take-up 

BIRMINGHAM-based CamNutra, which owns the Ateronon Tomato Pill, has exceeded its investment target of £800k via crowdfunding platform Syndicate Room.

The money was raised in just over a week.

The Ateronon range currently has products targeting heart health, prostate health, sports recovery and muscle soreness.  

CamNutra, a growing e-commerce business with a strong retail presence in major healthcare and grocery stores, opened its doors to external investors and has seen an influx of investors rushing to become shareholders in the business.

The UK market for dietary supplements and vitamins is estimated to be worth £750m.