In 1982 we gained our first accreditation with UK Payment Administration Ltd (Formerly APACS), this high value security accreditation allowed us to print cheques and pin numbers. We even developed our very own brand of cheques. The “topcheque” was launched, and some of our longer standing clients will remember a trip in the topcheque hot air balloon.
By 1984 the CFH group was growing, and the collective businesses were named Continu-forms holdings plc.
Yes, that’s where the name CFH originated and what evolved to be the amazing company we are today.
By 1992 we were printing our first Electoral documents, this is still a huge part of our service today, printing millions of postal vote packs, poll cards and ballot papers for every election.
Did you know that in 1997 we launched Top Tree, our tree planting scheme in partnership with the Woodland Trust. We are so proud to have planted over 115,000 trees across the UK, and even have a woodland in the Top Tree name.
By 1999 we were working with our financial clients and the on trend trans-promotional service. Though ahead of our time, our IT developers had the ability to take customer data and add personal promotional images to financial statements.
The 2000’s really were game changing years for the company. Dave Broadway, the son of Geoff took the helm. With Dave’s passion for the environment and IT background we were in safe hands.
A significant investment was made in 2007 to become a downstream access postal licence company. This allowed CFH to sort the mail we were printing and hand over to Royal Mail for final mile delivery. This enabled us to share postal cost savings with our growing number of clients.
2008 saw the launch of the first true hybrid mail solution on the market. Docmail allowed any organisation wishing to send letters or postcards to their customers to do so, simply and effectively for less than the cost of a stamp. The printing, paper, envelope and postage could be sent for 25p + vat, it’s a little bit more than that now but still an extremely cost-effective way to send communications. Imagine the possibilities. Our very first customer had to send 2000 flu vaccination letters. Instead of having practice staff folding and enclosing envelopes and running to the post office, Docmail did it all for them. To date we have delivered over 220 million documents through Docmail. It was so successful we went on to name our company after it; the company is now called CFH Docmail Ltd.
2011 and 2012 saw two really important acquisitions which made our company what it is today. FST technologies joined our group in 2011, followed by PRINT.UK.COM shortly after in 2012.
FST allowed us to have manufacturing, service teams and developers in Scotland. The site is located in Livingston, perfectly placed between the thriving cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Having this extensive capability in Scotland led to the award of the Scottish Government framework in partnership with Royal Mail, along with several key financial clients.
PRINT.UK.COM were the election and wealth management specialists, adding this to our portfolio strengthened our offering in these key sectors. The site, ideally located in Windsor near our nations capital, really does provide a royal service for our clients.
Realising that our clients wanted to communicate with their customers by a mix of print and digital channels, we developed Dotpost, which has become a widely used secure digital post-box. Payslips, health letters, council tax documents are all sent securely directly to the end users unique account. Users can view, store and manage all of their important documents.
In 2015 we completed one more acquisition, with the purchase of BSS Scotmail. BSS were a provider of print and mail services to businesses and public bodies across the UK, and complemented our current portfolio. We once again welcomed both new colleagues and new clients.
In 2019, following a management buy-out by the board of directors, the Broadway family took a well deserved step back from CFH after more than 40 years of dedicated service.
With Bill McFedries as CEO the long standing and experienced board were the perfect people to move the business forward. You can read more information about our executive board on our people and values page.
No sooner had the MBO completed, then the world was turned upside down as the covid pandemic hit us all. We are proud to have stood in support of our local authority and NHS clients, by sending millions of critical communications for covid vaccinations, community initiatives and shielding.
With the ongoing acceleration towards multi-channel communications, CFH have taken our years of experience in this marketplace to bring you CFH Transform.
We understand that when it comes to communications, it’s not a one-size fits all approach that’s required.
Instead, we work with our customers to ensure that each client's individual needs are met, while excelling in achieving their goals.
Our expertise and experience mean that we can continue to lead our clients to success, with tailored multichannel communication plans offering a range of cutting-edge solutions, designed to reach all of their valued customers.
As we plan and look forward to hitting 50 years, we have seen so many changes along the way.
We’ve seen our company grow, expand and evolve, allowing us to offer our customers the very best communication solutions that allow them to meet their ever changing goals.
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