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CPI Antony Rowe is probably a major local success story which you haven’t heard about.

Not only is CPI Antony Rowe one of the area’s major employers, with close to 250 people on the payroll, but recent investments, totalling £15.5m, make it one of the most technologically advanced companies, not only in the Wiltshire area, but in the global print industry.

Yet despite being at the forefront of print development, CPI Antony Rowe still retains the feel of a good old-fashioned family firm, which isn’t surprising, the company has strong family ties to the area, with several generations of local people working at the firm - sons and daughters work alongside mums and dads.

But that doesn’t mean Antony Rowe, based at sites in Chippenham and Melksham, has a parochial outlook, far from it, as part of the internationally renowned CPI group of printers, they are an important part of Europe’s book printing operations, working with publishers to print books, catalogues and scientific journals.

They can print by the unit or runs of several hundred thousand copies, in a wide range of formats and finishes, claiming unequalled level of quality. And thanks to the work of the CPI team, who are constantly designing new products, they continuously innovate.

“Printing may be a traditional industry, but we’re convinced it’s an industry of the future,” said CPI Antony Rowe’s divisional general manager, Martin Collyer

It’s at CPI Antony Rowe, with an annual turnover of £36m, where the print industry’s rich tradition dovetails seamlessly with the contemporary digital world, the firm having introduced new and emerging technology at its site in Bowerhill, Melksham.

Mr Collyer added: “CPI Antony Rowe is a thriving business, and as recent investment levels suggest, we are offering long-term employment and development opportunities to the people of Wiltshire.”

That investment in both technology and people has seen the CPI Antony Rowe recruit 60 people in the last five years, an expansion of roughly 25 per cent of the workforce.

And to guarantee the future prosperity of the company, CPI Antony Rowe are looking to take on the next generation of printers and binders, offering a three-year apprenticeship to local youngsters.

 “The UK has a vibrant printing industry and we work with publishers offering supply chain solutions, and outlining how CPI’s technology can benefit them, and local people have an important role to play in our ongoing success.

 “There is a generational issue with recruitment, a lot of our skilled workforce is aging, and we need to get new people into the business.

“One of the ways we are doing that is through the apprenticeship programme, if we can find the people with the right aptitude we can teach them about our business and industry,” said Mr Collyer.

As well as Wiltshire, CPI operate in six countries, has a client base which is 2,000 strong, and annually prints over 400 million books.

For further information, go to: www.cpi-print.co.uk/apprenticeships/