Birmingham printers show it’s HIP to be square

A Birmingham high-tech printing company is more than doubling the size of its workforce after securing a massive slice of the market for the new Home Information Packs which will be required for all house sales after June 1. VLM UK Ltd moved to Birmingham from Ireland five years ago and currently employs 24 people at its site in Kings Norton, specialising in digital printing of brochures and literature for estate agents around the country.
With the help of a £245,000 Selective Finance for Investment (SFI) grant from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, the company is

investing £1.5 million in increasing its capacity and moving to a new unit, creating 33 new jobs. The company was also assisted in finding new premises – avoiding the loss of the company to another part of the country – by Locate in Birmingham.
Individual Home Information Packs (HIPs), containing copies of title deeds, any recent planning permission or building consent given on the property, a local area search and an energy performance certificate will be compulsory for each of the 900,000 house sales that take place each year.
As a result of deals struck with the providers of the packs, VLM estimate they will be producing around a third of all HIPs ordered in England and Wales using the very latest on-line information and automated printing processes.
The company expects to move into its new premises on the Kings Norton Business Centre in the next few weeks and is already recruiting the extra staff needed to meet the demand for HIPs.
Owner and managing director, Declan Malone, said: “The new Government legislation for HIPs is very good news for us as we have traditionally worked in producing printed products for the real estate sector.
“While we will continue doing this, the massive demand for HIPs means we are having to relocate to new premises, more than double the number of staff we employ and invest heavily in new presses.
“At one stage we were considering whether it would be more beneficial for the company to relocate outside the region but the advice and support from Advantage West Midlands and Locate in Birmingham, the benefits of location and quality of workforce here made us realise that staying in the West Midlands was the only logical choice.”
John Edwards, Advantage West Midlands Chief Executive, said: “While printing is as traditional an industry as it gets, VLM has stayed at the forefront of the market by investing in technologies such as their on-line systems which means printed material can be with customers within hours.
“Now, the opportunity that has come about with HIPs and this investment in technology means they are able to take advantage.
“Advantage West Midlands’ investment and the jobs created as a result are exactly the sort of value-added activity we want to see."