Senior industry expert Simon Cooper will join Solopress as managing director in February 2019 as part of the planned transition of Solopress’ founders Aron Priest and Andy Smith to new roles. With long-term executive roles at Cimpress subsidiaries Tradeprint and Exaprint, Cooper is one of the most experienced online printing executives in the UK. Michael Fries, CEO of the Onlineprinters Group which Solopress is part of, commented on the development: “We are very happy to have Simon join the Onlineprinters family. With his experience in printing and e-commerce, his leadership skills and a strong entrepreneurial background, Simon will be key in developing and growing Solopress.”

Business Development

Two years after the acquisition of Solopress by the Onlineprinters Group, Solopress has strengthened its market position as a UK market leader in online printing. The Essex-based company has been successfully integrated into the Onlineprinters Group. Through scaling of the production within the group, joint procurement of consumables and technology as well as investment in software, equipment and infrastructure, Solopress has improved its competitive edge. A large number of new customers have been gained through the expansion of products and services.

Simon Cooper, the new managing director of Solopress, states: “I’m incredibly excited to be joining Solopress as I’ve long admired the brand and their approach to the market. Their e-commerce shop and 24-hour turnaround times have long been the envy of the industry and I am delighted to now have a chance to join the business and provide the leadership it’ll need as the founders change roles. I’m looking forward to working with the strong Solopress team and COO Kevin Seaden to further accelerate Solopress’ development.”

Management transition

Solopress founder Aron Priest will become an active advisor and continue to serve Solopress in his new role. Andy Smith will turn to new entrepreneurial projects. “I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the company founders Andy Smith and Aron Priest. They have built Solopress and made it one of the market leaders that it is today. I am happy that Aron will continue to advise Solopress and share his experience and knowledge,” Group CEO Michael Fries says. Aron Priest comments: “I’m very proud of Solopress’ market position, which is an achievement of the hard work of the Solopress staff that I would like to thank. Simon has the knowledge and the ability to increase Solopress’ market share and its leading position in the UK market.”