Industry News
Spandex founders awarded MBEs in King’s Birthday Honours
F
ounders of Spandex, Charlie and Mary Dobson, have been awarded Members of the Order of the British Empire in the recent King’s Birthday Honours. The award was a testament to the couple’s outstanding fundraising efforts
Founders of Spandex, Mary and Charlie Dobson
for children and young adults with disabilities and life-threatening illnesses. Following an accident in which their son Julian lost two fingers, Mr and Mrs Dobson founded the Charles and Mary Dobson Charitable Trust in 1988, through which they donated a percentage of their annual salaries to charitable causes. Their fundraising continued through their trust, The Spandex Foundation, which was renamed The Starfish Trust in 1998. Their charitable trusts have distributed almost £7m in grants, helping fund the likes of six specialist hydrotherapy pools for disabled children, a meningitis research laboratory at the University of Bristol and the development of a
swissQprint strives for sustainable excellence S
wissQprint has stated its desire to concentrate on regional supply chains to strive for production that is as environmentally friendly as possible, while also embracing its corporate social responsibility.
With 3,000 machine parts going into a single swissQprint large format printer, one of the ways the company pushes to be environmentally friendly, is by sourcing 70% of its machine parts from suppliers within an 80km radius, minimising C02 emissions in the manufacturing process. The company develops and builds its printers 100% in-house at its headquarters in Kriessern, Switzerland,
with machine covers and mechanical parts all coming from suppliers within a 10km radius. Its in-house construction both reduces environmental impact as well as boosts the regional economy. The printer’s machine frame is built in a welding shop one floor below the same headquarters building.
swissQprint’s headquarters in Kriessern, Switzerland
children’s hospice in Bristol, for which they gave £1m.
Mr Dobson said: “In 1976, my wife Mary and I founded Spandex, and with the help of an amazing team, we built it into a remarkable public company, which was sold in 1998 for £110m. During this period, we also established a charitable trust, and much to our surprise, we have been included in the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours, each awarded an MBE.
“None of this would have been possible without the dedication of all the fantastic personnel at Spandex between 1976 and 1998 – a big thank you to you all.”
Newcastle printer switches to Marabu
P
rint North East, based in Byker, Newcastle, has switched to Marabu inks on its solvent and UV
digital printers.
Owner and managing director at Print North East, Steve Gilbert, said: “The change over from OEM inks to Marabu was completely seamless on both the solvent and UV machines and we are totally confident that Marabu will help us deliver exceptional quality in a highly cost-effective manner.”
Print North East operates the latest in digital, large format and litho printing.
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