Our story
We are proud of our history!
Although Mail Solutions was formed in 2000, some of our business roots can traced back as far as the 20th century to a stationery company called Kenrick & Jefferson Ltd (or known to many as 'K&J').
From just a small operation many years ago, the company has continued to grow and become one of the most enterprising and successful manufacturers of envelopes and print in the UK. Our values from day one have very much been to deliver quality, service and value to our customers, which has helped shape our history and still drives us forward today.
Follow our timeline below to find out more about our story.
1987 to 2000
1987-89: Britannia Envelope Manufacturing Co, Mech-Mail Envelopes and Tradesource are formed
1997: South Staffordshire Water acquired Telford-based envelope manufacturer Mech-Mail Envelopes
1998: South Staffordshire Water acquired second envelope manufacturer, Stoke based Britannia Envelope Manufacturing Co
Mar 2000: Britannia Envelopes and Mech-Mail Envelopes are merged creating Mail Solutions
2000 to 2004
Apr 2000: Renamed South Staffordshire Group acquired Corby based printer Tradesource and rebranded as Mail Solutions
Apr 2004: South Staffordshire Group de-merged business into two separate entities, South Staffordshire plc and Homeserve plc, which saw Mail Solutions become part of the newly formed insurance provider
Jul 2004: Longmax Industries in a Management Buy-Out (MBO) purchase the entire Mail Solutions business from Homeserve
2006 to 2010
Jul 2006: Mail Solutions completed its first acquisition since the MBO, by purchasing envelope company K&J Lockie
Apr 2007: Vendor-Initiated Management Buy-Out (VIMBO) is completed by Longmax Industries, leading to the creation of Mail Solutions Group
Jul 2009: Mail Solutions acquired West Bromwich based BHF Envelopes and became part of the Telford envelope operation
Jul 2010: Mail Solutions continued to grow the envelope business with the addition of Empire Envelopes
2011 to 2013
Oct 2011: Mail Solutions completed the relocation of its HQ to a new 92,000 sq. ft facility in Halesfield, Telford
Jan 2012: New envelope company Great British Envelopes Ltd is established in Blackburn, leading to the introduction of the innovative litho reel envelope conversion
Jul 2012: Mail Solutions extended its presence within SE England by acquiring Dartford company, Crossways Envelopes
Jan 2013: Crossways Envelopes begin trading under the brand name of Mail Solutions
2015 to Present
Apr 2015: Both Great British Envelopes and Empire Envelopes adopt the Mail Solutions brand, creating a consistent identity throughout the Group
Sep 2015: Mail Solutions sets up new envelope production site at Llangollen, Wales, to target new markets
Nov 2017: Mail Solutions completed the transition to an employee-owned company. Purchased by the employee-ownership trust (“EOT”), all current employees are the beneficial owners of the business