£2m struck between Surface Print and Emerson & Renwick

Surface Print have ordered a new, bespoke printing press from Emerson & Renwick, which will cost over £2m to design, build and commission.

Surface Print, the leading wallpaper manufacturer based in Clayton-le-Moors, has been producing high quality, innovative wallpaper for over 30 years. The company was founded by John Watson, the current chairman, who has over 60 years’ experience in the wallpaper industry and today Surface Print is led by John’s children, James and Abigail Watson - the fouth generation of the family to be involved.

Their love of wallpaper can be traced back over a century to 1888 when their great grandfather Walter Watson joined Crown Wallpaper in Darwen as a trainee and quickly rose to become managing director. 

A reported four in five UK homeowners redecorated their property in 2021, whether to improve their environment as they spent more time at home, or to prepare to sell and take advantage of the surge in property prices. Surface Print also saw an increase in orders and had a buoyant year, enabling them to realise expansion plans.

In order to increase their range and flexibility of manufacturing processes, they had a requirement for a six-colour press hybrid printing machine with both rotary screen and gravure capabilities. For such a highly specialized, bespoke machine they approached Emerson and Renwick, a leading high tech machine manufacturer based just down the road in Church, who themselves have celebrated their centenary in business. They can also boast an incredible 50+ world-firsts in their innovation.

The new printing press will cost over £2m to design, build and commission. The order has a six month lead time due to the large and complex nature of the machine, and is on track to be installed in June. An additional up to ten employees will be required as they expand, joining the current team of 63.  

Steven Collinson, sales manager at Emerson and Renwick, commented: “Surface Print already have an extensive range of equipment for producing their high-quality wallpapers, from historic processes such as surface printing, to state of the art digital printing, but this machine extends their print capabilities still further without taking their focus off excellence. The machine is a hybrid machine designed specifically with wallpaper production in mind.  It has both Rotary Screen and Gravure printing capabilities on each of their 6 stations, and utilises the latest drives and controls for superior quality and accuracy - as is demanded by a company like Surface Print!“ 

James Watson, managing director at Surface Print, added: “We’ve had a good relationship with Emerson and Renwick for a while, we meet through the Amazing Accrington business leaders group and we’ve also bought some smaller pieces from them before. We knew we wouldn’t need to go any further for such an important investment; they have been amazing on service and quality, and we’re all looking forward to getting the new machine installed and commissioned!”

Ben Clements, managing director at Emerson and Renwick said: “It’s fantastic to be working with another local business, especially on such a large order which will create jobs here in Hyndburn. It will help them expand their offering and they sell wallpaper all over the world, all made right here!”

Surface Print is known industry leaders for producing the highest quality, innovative wallcoverings, and have one of the largest range of machine profiles in the world. You can see more on their website: www.surfaceprint.com

Emerson & Renwick is a leading manufacturer of production machinery, in the areas of: Wallcovering Machinery, Automotive/Heat Exchanger Machinery, Coating and Laminating Machinery. They have a reputation for innovation, engineering excellence, simplicity of design and long-term reliability. Read more here: www.eandr.com 

#AmazingAccrington is a business leaders group in Hyndburn dedicated to improving outcomes for residents of Hyndburn, and you can see more about them here: www.amazingaccrington.co.uk