TJ Books is a world-class book manufacturer with a reputation for putting customers first. Based in Padstow, Cornwall, the company is known for the quality of its products and the excellence of its staff. Amelia Douglas, Sales Director, and Robert Irwin, QHSE Manager, explained more to Hannah Barnett.
Led by two friends who share a first name and a passion for print, TJ Books is run by Managing Director Andy Watts and Finance Director Andy Adams. Having worked together previously, they jumped at the chance to run TJ Books six years ago.
The company had already operated for several decades, and this new chapter paved the way for further success. Now, TJ Books is embarking on a further path of sustainable growth.
Earlier this year, the company began merging with the Wakefield-based Charlesworth Press. The latter recorded a turnover of around £8 million last year, around half of TJ Books’ £15.4 million. The two businesses will have combined staff numbers of around 200 and the process of moving the operation to Padstow is currently underway, though an administrative office in Wakefield will remain. “It’s a new dawn for TJ Books,” as Sales Director Amelia Douglas put it.
At the same time, the company is embracing another new dawn by becoming digital-first. With heavy investment into digital equipment over the last five years, and Charlesworth Press moving in the same direction, it made sense.
“We still offer litho printing,” Ms Douglas added, “we have the capability still, because we have contracted customers from long-term business relationships that need lithographic printing. But we are becoming a digital-first site.
“Ultimately, our reputation in the book industry is for quality. We don’t focus on being the fastest book producers in the world, and we may not be the cheapest either. That’s not what we do. We produce real quality assurance and products that stand the test of time. Our investments in digital technology ensure that we’re continuing to do that in the long term.”
Printing sustainably
Reduction of use of the energy-draining litho presses will also help TJ Books in its quest to drive down electricity consumption. The company’s stated goal at the start of 2024 was a 3% reduction.
“We’re already a long way ahead of that,” said QHSE Manager Robert Irwin. “We are also expecting to change our forklift fleet to 100 per cent electric when they come to the end of their useful life, which will be quite soon.”
The company is waiting on planning permission for solar panels and is in the process of installing LED lighting throughout the factory, bringing multiple benefits.
“Not only will it reduce electricity consumption, but it makes a nicer environment for work,” said Ms Douglas, “We have had a big programme of internal awareness around sustainability. There’s a definite commitment from the staff to help that drive.
“It’s also something we talk to our customers about a lot. As part of their reporting, we can tell them that we don’t use single-use plastics throughout our production process, we’re not wrapping our books in the traditional binder parcels of polythene plastic, we only pack into cardboard boxes and we use brown recycled paper for void filler.”
Another reduction in electricity use has come from an investment in reel-to-reel
digital technology, a method of printing on a roll instead of a sheet, providing an end-to-end solution for the binding process.
“It all stays on one small footprint, which means we’re not using pallets and moving things around the factory as much,” Ms Douglas explained. “It also stops us having so much waste. It’s given us savings in terms of waste electricity, and that efficiency has allowed us to reduce our shift pattern for the same output.”
Partnerships in print
All TJ Books materials are FSC-certified. The company can also source recycled material to print on when requested. The next step involves making the finishes on the outside of books as sustainable as possible. There has been a notable drop off in the use of laminates and increased demand for digital spot UV machine finishes. Customers are also moving away from using foiling, which is notoriously difficult to recycle.
In order to maintain this steady trajectory of success, the company must maintain robust partnerships with its paper and board suppliers, all of which are also FSC accredited.
“We insist on that, of course, because it’s necessary for us to show a chain of custody to our customers, who also insist on it,” Mr Irwin explained. “With new EUDR regulations starting
in January 2025, we will be using an innovative blockchain called FSC Trace. This means we’ll soon be able to find out where a tree was felled, down to which forest within a very small geolocation, and which mill turned it into paper. The monitoring technology is fascinating.”
TJ Books works closely with industry bodies like Sedex, Carnstone, Book Chain and EcoVadis to demonstrate in a qualitative way that it is engaging with the full supply chain. “It’s measurable, particularly in the case of EcoVadis, which gives a score,” said Mr Irwin. “Our clients can see this. It is another driver to ensure that that we can continually improve in terms of environmental performance.”
People first
As part of the company’s focus on its staff, every six months each employee sees a presentation from the directors about what’s happened in the last six months and the aims for the next six. They are then invited to contribute to projects and offer their own ideas.
“We are a people-first company,” as Ms Douglas said. “And we always looking for local and independent businesses to partner with. We find that they share the same ethos that we do; being a small business with tight margins drives improvements in efficiency. If we learn something, we share the information with our partners. I think that’s quite impactful for us as a business.”
TJ Books clearly provides a productive and supportive environment in which to work and to progress. At least, Mr Irwin and Ms Douglas seem to think so.
“I’m a health and safety man by trade,” said Mr Irwin. “I’ve been doing it for 20 years.
In this role, the Board of Directors look to me for the horizon scan, in terms of what legislation is coming and how we need to react. It’s been a challenge, involving learning new skills. I am 60 years old, so not far off retirement, but this is the most exciting place I’ve ever worked.”
“The first half of my career was as a buyer for a large publishing company,” Ms Douglas concluded. “In that job I could choose to buy better, to further sustainable goals. Since I’ve moved over to the print side, I’ve found I can choose to be better, and those better choices impact all our customers. I can talk to the owners of TJ Books anytime and we share values. It’s incredibly agile. I think that is one of the most satisfying things about working here.” n
