Blackburn print firm to invest £350,000 and create 50 new jobs

Blackburn-based First 4 Print Finishing is set for a £350,000 extension which will create 50 new jobs over the next three years.

First 4 Print Finishing announced it plans to create an initial 25 new jobs after the council bosses agreed a deal allowing it to buy its Whitebirk factory in Blackburn with the aim of creating another 25 positions by 2019.

There will be an initial investment of £250,000 in the new building extending Unit 5 and a further £100,000 in the latest machinery.

First 4 Print Finishing specialises in folding, stitching and finishing leaflets and booklets, producing up to 12 million promotional items a day and fulfils 300 million mail packs a year exporting across Europe.

It is now moving more actively into the direct mail market as well as investing in the latest automated technology for its main business.

Lorenzo Fardella, finance director at First 4 Print Finishing, said: “I am really pleased at the decision as it means we an now go-ahead with our expansion plans and stay in Blackburn. We could not have have invested in a new building without owning the factory and there were few alternative sites in the borough.”

The new investment will bring both of its Blackburn operations on the Whitebirk Industrial Estate under one roof. Mike Damms, chief executive of East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is good news for Blackburn, the borough and East Lancashire.”