Onlineprinters subsidiary Solopress has a new MD. Simon Cooper - who has held long-term executive roles at Cimpress subsidiaries Tradeprint and Exaprint - takes on the mantle as founders Aron Priest and Andy Smith move on. Priest will continue to act as an advisor, while Smith leaves to concentrate on new entrepreneurial projects.
Michael Fries, CEO of the Onlineprinters, said: “With his experience in printing and e-commerce, his leadership skills and a strong entrepreneurial background, Simon will be key in developing and growing Solopress.”
Through scaling of the production within the group, joint procurement of consumables and technology as well as investment in software, equipment and infrastructure, Essex-based Solopress has improved its competitiveness, and it has gained a large number of new customers through the expansion of products and services since its acquisition two-years ago.
Cooper said of his new role: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining Solopress as I’ve long admired the brand and their approach to the market. Their e-commerce shop and 24-hour turnaround times have long been the envy of the industry and I am delighted to now have a chance to join the business and provide the leadership it’ll need as the founders change roles. I’m looking forward to working with the strong Solopress team and COO Kevin Seaden to further accelerate Solopress’ development.”
The Onlineprinters Group employs more than 1,400 and produced over three billion printed advertising products last year, including large-format advertising systems.
Solopress is one of the UK’s largest online printers, offering a wide range of business related printed products, including posters and banners. With the maxim ‘Print Delivered Tomorrow’ the company ships over 77% of its print jobs within 24 hours of being ordered. Last year it produced over 480,000 orders, and hit the 2,000,000th order milestone in December 2018. The operation has achieved growth for 14 consecutive years.
