Winter & Simpson, fondly known as Winters by local Dundonians, delivers high quality printing and packaging solutions for a range of clients, including universities, government organisations, and travel companies.

The Winter & Simpson name has been around since 2011 and reflects the merger between two very long-established Dundee printing companies – Trendell Simpson of Dundee Ltd and David Winter & Son Ltd. Both companies have a long history of printing in Dundee, tracing their roots back well over a century, with the original Winters business dating back to the 1700s and to James Chalmers, who invented the postage stamp.

Having successfully run the family business since 1998, Stephen Simpson handed over the reins to his son, Kenny, during the pandemic. Determined to make the business his own, Kenny approached Business Gateway for help.

Kenny benefitted from a suite of Business Gateway’s growth business services, which included dedicated support from a one-to-one adviser, as well as a strategic review of his business plan. This review helped highlight the considerable opportunities available through an expansion into the packaging market, particularly focusing on recyclable packaging.

Through Business Gateway, Kenny benefitted from specialist support from Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service, which helped towards improving productivity. Kenny was also able to work on his leadership style through Workplace Innovation support.

Winter & Simpson additionally received funding support which has been critical to meet investment needs to enable a more rapid expansion into the packaging market. The funding of a Velo Digital Die Cutting machine has helped push the business further into the packaging markets by allowing accurate prototypes to be created instantly.

Since approaching Business Gateway, the business has won local packaging contracts that were previously being printed in Europe and shipped across the country. Covering a variety of different industries, these have varied from pet food packaging to microwave sleeves for supermarket chains, to working with a local engineering company who required protective packaging for a small but valuable component.

Kenny Simpson, managing director, Winter & Simpson Ltd, said: “I took a huge career jump when I joined the family business, which has a long and proud history in Dundee.

“As the fourth generation from the Simpson family to take over the running of the business, I was determined to uphold our reputation as one of the best litho, digital and wide format printers in Scotland.

“Business Gateway has been a fantastic source of guidance. The support I have received has been invaluable for my own leadership skills and has taught me how to effectively plan for the future.

“I really can’t thank the Business Gateway team enough and would encourage any other SMEs to reach out to their local branch and find out what support is available.”

Michelle Shepherd, Business Gateway adviser, said: “Taking on a new challenge can always be daunting, but the success of Winter & Simpson over the last few years is testament to Kenny’s hard work and determination.

“We were able to support Kenny and his team through a range of Business Gateway’s growth business services, which I know have been essential for the transition period into new management. I look forward to watching Winter & Simpson continue to grow in the future.”