tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7054126605724460225.post6554686962267532881..comments2024-03-20T21:17:14.523+00:00Comments on Justin's Amazing World At Fenner Paper: Paul Snoswell Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16976966015377117780noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7054126605724460225.post-6304787479950499732013-02-04T21:56:58.295+00:002013-02-04T21:56:58.295+00:00Paul encouraged me to enter the print industry sho...Paul encouraged me to enter the print industry shortly after I left school. He helped me and a good number of my contemporaries who had chosen not to go into further education to find a path. I will always remember him fondly for this reason.<br />I think the article is highly relevant as it is important to see where today’s industry has evolved from. Paul retired in 87 when print was starting to change in way that none of us would have thought possible at the time. The race for technology to replace labour, PCs, Apple Macs and of course the internet all dealt body blows from which there would be no recovery. <br />The BP report and accounts is good example. I remember the 450,000 copies as it was my first year in the job. The logistics of getting all the materials in the right place at the right time and then finally delivered is staggering. Within only a few years the vast majority of these copies would be on a CD with an accompanying letter to the shareholder. It’s probably a PDF on a website now!<br />Just before I left the print in 2004 I remember being told by somebody in one of the newly created facilities management companies that we were a service industry not a manufacturer. All I can remember is the 1000s of individual jobs that we nurtured through the factory to produce bespoke products we could be proud of and the customer would be pleased with. <br />I learnt this from Paul. When visiting him in his home he would show me the latest creation he had been involved with. He would be talking about what had been achieved in the tight dead line and how the quality had been maintained. He would be talking about the problems they had encountered and what had been done to resolve them. Pride in the job, pride in the work, and pride in the end product. There seems to be little room for this in today’s world. It’s all about price, price, price, with the facilities management companies bashing the suppliers over the head at every opportunity, while creaming off the profits the printers need to re invest in machinery and to pay their staff for working long hours. It’s a wonder there are any printers left in the UK.<br />The facilities management companies have not replaced the Paul Snoswell’s of this world – they have only succeeded them.<br />We shall all miss you Paul. Thank you.<br />Justin - Turned into a bit of a rant about FMCs<br />I did avoid saying "Sponging Middle men" "PC spread sheetjockeys" and " the only way they'd get dirty hands is if they fell over" <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com