ANC Manufacturing is a leading supplier to Promotional Product Distributors. We are a proud member of the British Promotional Merchandise Association and Giftware Association.

ANC Manufacturing is part of the Ancestors Group, established in 1992. The business has developed and evolved with a solid background and track record in research, design and manufacture for the heritage and corporate sectors. The company has become uniquely placed to service these industries through its extensive knowledge and manufacturing capabilities. 

17 different manufacturing processes are carried out on our premises in Folkestone and all can be used to create great products swiftly for the promotional market.

Senator is now offering a larger than normal clip print area for Signer Liner, winner of a Red Dot design award.

The premium twist mechanism Signer Liner is now available from the UK with a 35 x 6mm one-colour print on the jet black clip.  It is made from a unique combination of metal and plastic.

Thanks to investment in cutting-edge technology, The Pen Warehouse now offers 360° laser engraving on 118 of its products with a five-day standard lead time.

Traditionally, the laser engraving process has only been able to mark a restricted area on a cylindrical pen. It only has line-of-sight of one side of the barrel and cannot engrave around it. This means it is typically limited to an engraving height of between 6mm and 10mm.

However, technological advances mean the machine can now also engrave around the circumference of the pen at the same time, making the entire 360° of the barrel available for branding.

The bpma education programme factory visits were a real success for the summer and autumn seasons and prove to be a highlight of the learning journey. The factory visits have been created to complement the course content for the Trained in Promotional Merchandise (TPM) level qualification, allowing learners to engage with suppliers, see theory in practice and gain hands-on production experience.

Commenting on the benefi ts of a factory visit, Listawood’s sales director Sim Shalom reports: “It’s useful to be able to spend time helping learners to gain a better understanding of the many printing and production processes involved in the accurate branding and manufacturing of a wide range of ceramic products and other best-selling items.”

The bpma education programme continues to grow, with over 120 active learners on the programme. Daniela Arena, professional development manager at the bpma, comments: “We now offer a blended learning approach on the education programme. Learners can attend an introductory seminar, held in London, and are encouraged to attend a supplier factory visit organised by the bpma. They can also attend a credit-weighted boot camp or similar event.

“The majority of the learning is still delivered online, allowing people to study at a time and place to suit them. To enhance the online learning, we are launching new content within the 14 subject categories into the programme four times a year. New content will be relevant and written specifically for our industry by experts of the fi eld within the industry.”

Matt Franks, CEO of Fluid Branding and chairman of the bpma, was preparing to run the New York Marathon as Product Media was going to press.

He is raising money for Pancreatic Cancer UK and, although he was running the marathon on November 1, you can still donate via www.justgiving.com/Matt-Fanks-NYC.

Matt (pictured) said: “Earlier this year I entered the New York Marathon on a whim, not dreaming of actually getting a place.  I got lucky through the ballot – first time – and so the hard work began.”

Medals handed out at the end of the Rugby World Cup were the result of months of development in secret by design company Touch of Ginger.

They were briefed to produce three different sets of medals: for the World Cup finalists and winners of the third and fourth place play-off; for the remaining 17 teams; and for the helpers.

Touch of Ginger director Adam Cash said: “The helpers’ gifts are for everyone involved in helping to put together what is a huge logistical challenge, so they have something to say thank you to them.”

The Government’s tax levy on plastic bags in larger retailers has come into force but what polythene bags are exempt from the tax?

The levy is applied to retailers with 250 employees or more and only for bags that are 70 microns thick or less, with handles, and not having been previously used. Polythene bags that are exempt are returnable multiple reuse bags that must be:

T-shirts that raised £100,000 for Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign to be Labour Party leader were made by workers earning just 49p per hour, according to an investigation by The Mail on Sunday.

The T-shirts cost supporters £10 each, with additional postage at £3.50, but the workers from Nicaragua were paid just 49p per hour for them. In Nicaragua, workers are paid £101 a month for shifts that keep some workers on the factory site for more than 12 hours a day, with breaks.

Some of the T-shirts were made in Haiti where workers are paid a piece rate depending on how many shirts they make, which means some earn as little as 39p an hour.

Q. How can I increase my sales in promotional clothing?

A. This is a good question that I am sure many distributors will associate with. There are so many variations on both clothing and branding that often it’s easier to shy away from the clothing sector.

There are two key points to assess when discussing clothing options.

Hertfordshire-based distributor Shout Promotional Merchandise delivered another great showcase event at the beautiful Chartered Accountants Hall in the City of London. 

The event was supported by 21 suppliers and three speakers including Gordon Glenister, director general of the bpma, and had over 225 pre-registered visitors.

Managing director Carrie Benn commented: “We are absolutely overwhelmed by the visitor feedback from the day.”

Impamark Prestige Branded Merchandise is celebrating 40 years as a family-run promotional merchandise business.

Throughout this time, it has been located in the sleepy backwater town of Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex, initially at Dammerwick Farm before moving operations into the town in 1975. They have since been provided services to a wide-ranging client list, including the University of St Andrews, Harrow School, RAF Rugby Union and Rolls Royce.

Two successful Midlands businesses, both well-established names in the promotional products industry, have merged.

Gilt Edged Promotions and USB2U will be working under one roof in Moulton Park in Northampton with the aim of becoming the UK’s leading promotional products supplier.

Together they will generate a combined annual revenue of £8.5m. Gilt Edged and USB2U will continue to trade under their well-known individual brand names, and the team of over 60 people are excited by the opportunities that their shared skill-sets and strengths will bring.

The bpma has removed Blindside Marketing, a merchandise sourcing house, from its membership due to an unresolved complaint and a contravention of the bpma Code of Conduct.

Fellow bpma member Mosaic Marketing tried to source some bespoke tea towels through Blindside Marketing. Unfortunately, the resulting order process was a catalogue of disasters and poor communication back to Mosaic.

As with all complaints, a number of attempts were made to Blindside to respond to the complaint, all of which were ignored.

A design for flat-pack binoculars called “Owlsee”, has won the the bpma Student Design Competition for design students from universities across the UK.

Entries were whittled down to a final few with students then invited to champion their designs at a judging session in June at the Museum of Brands in London.

The finalists were from Nottingham Trent and Brunel Universities. Each student had five minutes to pitch their idea to the five judges: Gordon Glenister of the bpma, Maz Ali of Innovation 1st, Jean-Francois Chodecki of Corporate Creations, Angus Montgomery, editor of Design Week, and Bilal Hussain of Alvastone.

Matt Pluckrose, managing director of Desktop Ideas, on the new USB-C ports.

We have all got used to changes in the cables and connectors that power and connect our devices to power and our data hosts. Just when they seemed
to make sense to us, all the major tech companies have found a new standard which hopefully can bring standardisation over time. This new standard is known as USB-C and its design features reversible, symmetrical ends so there is no longer a wrong way to insert a cable into a port. But the significance of this is far more significant than that for laptops, tablet and smartphone users. The new connector technology means we should see quicker charging of gadgets, faster transfer of data and, as the design is somewhat smaller than its ancestors, slimmer devices.