On-Line Press Pack - Intelligent Print Solutions

Who We Are

The Polestar Group is Europe’s leading independent printing company, serving the publishing, retail, travel and direct marketing arenas through the production of catalogues, brochures, magazines, newspapers, and direct mail. If you have recently read a newspaper or magazine, flicked through a holiday brochure, ordered from a catalogue, scratched off the numbers on your game card which came free with a newspaper supplement, or even read the direct mail from your bank this morning, then, perhaps unwittingly, you already know a little bit about Polestar. And even in the unlikely event that you did none of these things, you can be certain that you were part of the UK Census 2001 – the forms for which were all printed by The Polestar Group.

Polestar employs 4,000 staff operating from plants and offices all over the UK and Europe. This multi-site capability enables Polestar to provide outstanding flexibility and speed of turnaround, without compromising quality.

The People Who Drive the Company Forward

Barry Hibbert - Chief Executive

Barry Hibbert is Chief Executive of the Polestar Group. Appointed to this position in 2001, and having spent 15 years in the print and media industry, he has since set about reshaping and refocusing one of Europe’s largest independent printing Groups.

Barry was previously a Director of Harman International, where he was responsible for European operations and design, winning an award from the UK Department of Trade and Industry for process and design innovation; one of the products developed winning a place in the design museum in London. In 1998 he launched 'httprint' software system, now the world’s largest online print exchange.

Barry began his career with Olivetti before a senior role with Carlton Communications.

He is a Director of the European Rotogravure Association, a Director of the British Printing Industries Federation, honorary Vice President of Vision in Print UK, and recently appointed President of the Printers Charitable Corporation.

Catherine Hearn - Chief Operating Officer

Catherine Hearn joined the Group on 1st July 2002 from Diageo plc. She is based with other main board directors at the Group’s Dunstable headquarters.

Catherine originally joined Guinness Brewing in June 1996 as Employee Relations and Policy Director. She later became Human Resources Director for some of the Guinness international markets. With the integration of Guinness Brewing and UDV, Catherine was appointed HR Director of Diageo Business Services, where she has been instrumental in steering a complex and challenging programme to redesign business processes and establish a new business services centre in Budapest.

Prior to joining Guinness Brewing, Catherine held a number of personnel management roles during ten years at ICL. Her experience also includes seven years at London Transport.

Richard Timmins - Group Finance Director

Richard is the most recent addition to the Polestar main board, joining in January 2008. He is a highly experienced Chief Financial Officer and Economist, with previous roles including CFO for Watson Wyatt across Europe, Arthur Andersen and Thomas Cook Group's Financial Services division. He has also held senior finance positions with both the Inland Revenue and H.M. Treasury.

Richard is based at head office in Dunstable.

Peter Andreou - Operations Director

Peter joined Polestar in 2002, taking responsibility for all site budgets as well as managing a head office financial sales and commercial team.   In December 2006, he was appointed Operations Director.   In this role, Peter has day-to-day management responsibility for Polestar's operational performance, working through the site management teams.

Peter joined Polestar from Fujifilm Electronic Imaging where, during his three-year tenure, he was Business Operations and Planning Director.   His experience also includes Project and New Product Development accountancy roles.

James Povey - Marketing Director, UK Print

James Povey returned to Polestar in July 2003 from Jarrold Printing, where he was employed as Sales & Marketing Director.

A member of the Operational Board, James’ role as Marketing Director for the Group’s UK Web and Gravure businesses is focussed on adding value wherever possible through client interface - both by support to the sales team and personally running some of key customer relationships. James will also manage the external image of the business. He is based at the London Sales Office.

James first became involved in the industry when he joined BPCC as a graduate trainee in 1987. He has worked in various sales and marketing roles, largely serving key accounts within the ‘Fleet Street’ and magazine publishing markets.

What We Do

Polestar offers Europe’s most complete range of printing and associated services. From the newspapers and magazines you read to holiday brochures, office supplies catalogues, and direct mail you receive, the name Polestar is never far away.

Newspaper Supplements

Of all the markets we serve, the newspaper colour supplements market is probably the most time-critical. Our multi-site operations offer flexibility in pre-press, printing and finishing, enabling us to deliver high volumes on time, every week of every year. Polestar also has the facilities and expertise to handle value added products, such as promotional videos or CD’s, in-line glue applications for questionnaires, sachets and response cards, as well as advertising Post-It Notes. NewsPac, our high-speed wrapping facility, then wraps each bundle in clear or pre-printed polythene.

Magazines

Polestar prints more magazines than any other UK printer, including such popular titles as Now!, TV Times, Woman, Woman’s Own and the British institutions that are Country Life and Radio Times. Our facilities enable us to offer perfect binding, saddle stitching, personalisation and mailing, as well as loose inserting and Post-It Note application. And we have a well-deserved reputation for high quality, cost-effective production.

Travel

A prerequisite of working with the travel industry is the ability to incorporate last minute price changes in travel brochures and have them available to customers as soon as possible thereafter. Polestar’s digital workflows and expansive production capabilities enable them to process last minute information and still deliver on time.

Retail

The retail sector is one of the largest and most diverse industry sectors served by Polestar. Product requirements are infinitely variable, from tabloid style give-aways packed with special offers and redeemable vouchers, brochures, catalogues, through to customer loyalty magazines, all brimming with colour, last minute price changes and pack shots that require accurate reproduction in print. Such diversity is always at home at Polestar. With such a wide range of printing capability, we are able to profile each product to the press best suited to produce it, ensuring that we deliver the finished product on time at competitive rates.

Financial

With confidentiality at the heart of the business, Polestar understands the need for discretion, security and accurate communication. Operating from secure sites throughout the UK, Polestar provides a full service of project consultancy, data management, digital reprographics, up to six-colour printing, in-line gluing and perforating, personalisation, finishing and mailing. We regularly produce direct mail packs, forms and stationery, brochures, envelopes, annual reports and handle transactional mailings for leading financial institutions.

Catalogues & Mail Order

The growth of mail order in recent years has resulted in catalogue production becoming a core business for Polestar, acting as a catalyst for much of the investment in new technology and equipment within the Group. Key to the success of a mail order business is a faithful representation of the goods they are selling, and in particular the colour. Significant investment in digital reproduction and colour management enables Polestar to support the needs of this industry.

How We Do It

All Under One Roof

Polestar offers a one-stop service for all print, packaging, mailing and distribution needs. A combination of the latest technology and extensive resources, both in the UK and abroad, ensures that every step of every job is monitored and quality-controlled. Clients enjoy the added peace of mind that comes with one company handling all aspects of the job.

Digital Printing Services

Extensive digital printing facilities, including variable colour digital printing, place Polestar among the most technically advanced suppliers to the commercial and high volume direct mail markets.

Web Offset

Polestar’s pan-European web offset printing and binding facilities provide some of the best known names in world-wide publishing with time-sensitive weekly, monthly, business and consumer magazines. Group-wide CTP technology delivers plates direct to presses for enhanced schedules and quality reproduction.

Roto Gravure

Polestar is the largest printer in Britain to offer this outstanding printing technique. High speed and high quality, Gravure is especially appropriate for print runs of over 400,000, resulting in unequalled print quality and value-for-money.

Sheet-Fed

Polestar operates sheet-fed presses to complement its web and gravure capabilities.

Finishing, Adding Value and Mailing

Polestar’s bindery capabilities are paramount to the solution it offers publishers. Perfect binding, saddle-stitching, in-line and off-line loose inserting facilities, personalisation, and polywrapping provide an innovative range of opportunities.

Direct Mail Services

Polestar offers the complete package, from database management, direct mail print, personalisation, enclosing, through to fulfilment. Specialists in digital, sheet-fed, reel and continuous print, Polestar ensures customers’ requirements are met with the most effective method available.

Applied Solutions and Print Management

Polestar provides tailored technology solutions aimed at improving publishing or print-related processes. It offers cost effective and flexible solutions for managing content, automatically repurposing it for print and the Internet. To improve print procurement and management, from stock control through to digital asset management, Polestar also offers solutions based upon proven technologies and using industry standards to provide a fully managed service.

Finding images

Please visit our photo library within the Press Centre of the website.

Press Contact and numbers:

Sarah McLaughlin, PR, on tel/fax: +44(0)20 8675 4828, e-mail: sarahmclpr@aol.com

Last updated 11.01.2009