The office

If you want to get your hands on one of these...

click here www.walters.co.uk

THE

The latest office gossip from Walters

The wraps are

OFF!The bold new image of Walters

is revealed

The Office | Launch edition September 2013

PLUS! HERE’S

YOUR CHANCE TO

WIN! A FABULOUS iPAD MINI

See back page for details

WIN!

Walters | The Office | First edition Autumn 2013

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Features 6 More than just a new logo

Mike Walters unveils the new face for his company and explains the change.

9 A day in the life... Doors open at the crack of dawn and vans are on the road by 7am. It’s stationery, but it doesn’t stand still.

10 What’s grey on the outside and green on the inside? Copying some green ideas from Konica Minolta.

12 Don’t just sit there Planning for a better working environment with Senator and AB Agri

15 We’re green - it’s official! How to run a successful business without it costing the earth.

Regular gossip4 Coffee time titbits

Who’s been doing what...the latest quotes...and rolling back the years to 1988.

16 It’s competition time! To celebrate the Walters re-brand we’re giving away a fabulous Apple iPad mini. Just visit our brilliant new web site, answer 3 easy questions and you’re in it to win it!

A word from the top...

Well, if it’s a word from me, then I guess that word

would be “change”.This month will see a complete new image for the company that I have been involved with since 1975, and you’ll see inside on pages 6 and 7 that it will mean a new way of doing business for all of us at Walters.We’ve never been a company to rest on our laurels and I have a fantastic team that always just makes things happen - so a big “thank you” to them too.We’re planning to get The Office magazine to you regularly, it’ll also be on our web site and available as a download (doing our bit for the environment as ever!).So grab a coffee, sit back and take a break to read what’s going on in Walters Office.All the best, Mike Walters

THE

Welcome to this, our first edition of The Office magazine, crammed full of all the latest news, features, and new products plus a few juicy bits of gossip! Just look what’s inside...

THE

The latest office gossip from Walters

DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO

WIN!A FABULOUS

iPAD MINISee back page

for details

WIN!

................................... ...................................

...................................

5

15

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Walters Limited . 19 Royce Road . Peterborough . PE1 5YB . 01733 707000 . www.walters.co.uk

SINGAPORE 2013

gossipTHE LATEST OFFICE

from the Walters Group >>>>>All the latest news, views and innovations from Walters

And the winner is...The “great and good” from amongst Konica Minolta’s dealer partners gathered in Wales recently at the annual business solutions conference. Hosted at the prestigious Celtic Manor resort, this event allows Konica Minolta to engage its dealer partners in all the product innovations and service enhancements for the coming year. Plus it’s a great opportunity to recognise outstanding performance from the previous year. Once again, Mike Walters, MD of the Walters Group scooped the coveted Special Recognition award.

HOP IT!to help fight cancerQ What do you get when

you mix 180 willing team members...an 8-foot plywood frog...100 metres of rope...some scaffolding...and a JCB digger?

A A brilliant day of fun and thousands of pounds raised

for the MacMillan charity’s fight against cancer.

20th June saw Walters’ team members (pictured left to right above) Sophie Purvis, James Walters, Matt Kealey, Jason Swepson, and Vince Tindale competing in the 2013 MacMillan World Frog Racing Championships held at the Peterborough Greyhound Racing Stadium. Winners, ABC Stainless, collected the Eileen Walters Memorial Trophy (in memory of Mike’s mother).Regrettably after a brilliant practice run this year, things went a bit pear-shaped for the Walters team, but as always it’s taking part rather that winning that matters!


>>>>>Welcome to the “little red dot”Located in Southeast Asia, Singapore has a tiny overall size of just 710 square kilometres, making her one of the smallest countries in the world – hence the nickname “The Little Red Dot”. Although small in size, Singapore commands an enormous presence - very similar to the Walters Group’s status within Konica Minolta’s dealer line-up. So it’s no surprise that when just 10 of the top business partners were invited on the 31st Dealer Invitation Trip, that Mike and Mandy Walters were top of the list.It was also a great opportunity for Mike to receive yet another award at the event’s Gala Dinner in recognition of his company’s promotion of Konica Minolta’s equipment and for improving the quality of customer satisfaction. Pictured above: Mike giving a grateful response after winning the award.

In this year... 1988

We take a nostalgic look back across 25 years at some of the things making headlines then...• Kylie Minogue topped the

charts for the longest time that year with her hit single “I should be so lucky”.

• Margaret Thatcher becomes the longest serving British prime minister this century.

• The first BBC Red Nose Day raises £15 million for charity.

• Jim Walters, founder of ‘Walters’ (pictured above in a sketch from 1982) sadly dies, and control of the business passes to son, Mike.

• It is revealed that the average price of a house in Britain reached £60,000.

• British Rail announces a 21% rise in the cost of long distance season tickets.

• AND FINALLY.... Peter Billinghay, sales director, starts work at Walters on 1st April. He was clearly no April fool and has had a long and successful career. Many congratulations on 25 years service Peter!

From tiny acornsWho could have imagined back in 1959 that the little stationers in the tobacconist shop on the corner of Midgate, Peterborough (pictured below) would become the thriving, national business services and supplies group that it is today.Walters is now a leading local company, being Bondholders of Opportunity Peterborough, members of the Peterborough Chamber of Trade and the Peterborough Business Club. They also sponsor the Customer Services Award at the Peterborough Telegraph Business Awards Evening.“ “

A red letter dayCelebrating success is high on the agenda of the Walters management team and when comments arrive from customers like this one from Harry Norman MD at Olympus Automation, it’s a good reason for everyone to take pride in the first-class customer service that they provide. Read on and you’ll see why...

Walters provided an excellent service in the modernisation of our offices.The team were good listeners and very patient with our ever-changing demands, nothing was too much trouble and we are very pleased with the end result. The price was good but the value we received was excellent and I would have no hesitation in recommending them.

1988

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“ “operation is promoted in its own market and this led the thinking behind the new image of Walters. Mike explains...There are still many of our customers who see us only as a stationery supplies company, and although this is still a major part of our business, we can offer complete solutions for every business, from fully-networked copier and printer systems to total office furniture planning and refits. Our new corporate identity allows us to show our diversity in a very bold way.

Segmenting the Group into three distinct sectors, each with their own signature colour has enabled every part of the business to be fully identified in the new range of multi-channel marketing material.Everything from external signage on the head office to delivery vans, customer documentation and staff uniforms has been re-branded.“You can’t shout softly and so we are intending to make a real impact with the launch this month of our new corporate identity” continues Mike...

This month sees the next chapter of the Walters amazing history when a brand new corporate identity is rolled out across the Group.We caught up with Managing Director Mike Walters to get the story behind his bold decision to change the face of the company.Walters has become a very diverse business, expanding its core stationery supplies operation to become an award-winning, document solutions provider as well as a well-respected office interiors design and installation company.Like many multifaceted businesses it’s important that every part of the

More than just a new logo

The Walters stationery business that started back in 1959 has

changed beyond recognition.Gone is the small tobacconist and office shop in Peterborough city centre - replaced by fully-equipped showrooms, offices and warehousing on an expanding business park.No more sales of carbon paper and snuff - today’s business supplies cover over 20,000 different product lines.

It’s all change this month at Peterborough’s leading business supplies & services group. We find out how and why from the man who made it happen


“ “We’ve looked at everything, in particular our customer-facing communications and at the forefront of this is the new website. We’re delighted with the bright, clean and easy-to-use approach to the website and you can see straight away how diverse we are. Take a look at walters.co.uk.Launched on 2nd September, the new identity for the Walters Group is now proudly displayed across every aspect of the business clearly identifying it as a national provider of business services and supplies.

More than just a new logoIt’s all change this month at Peterborough’s leading business supplies & services group. We find out how and why from the man who made it happen

Top left: Walters original shop with Mike Walters (inset). Above right: its re-branded headquarters. Above: the new look website at walters.co.uk which launched on 2nd September.

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Inspiration into Action

During 2014 the Initiative range is being redesigned to make the offi ce a more inspiring place, from the reception to the board room.

Initiative will continue to bring you high quality and price-effi cient products that you can rely on time and time again.

Look out for the exciting new look range during 2014 and the chance to win some inspirational prizes!

A new look for your Initiative offi ce products

New for 2014


been picked, checked, packed and loading onto the various delivery vehicles will be well underway.08:30 FIRST DELIVERIES MADE TO BUSY OFFICESThe vans are out and about making the first drops of the day. Some vans will be out most of the day, only returning after round trips of over 100-miles.13:00 BACK TO HQ FOR THE NEXT LOADVans from the more local delivery routes return to base, ready for a second run after lunch.15:00 PACKING UP THOSE

LAST MINUTE OVERNIGHT DELIVERIES

Orders for next-day delivery throughout the UK accumulate through the day and final packing is completed ready for

collection by our overnight courier partners.

17:01 DAY OVER - APART FROM THE MD WHO’S STILL PACKING ORDERS!The warehouse winds down after almost 12-hours of frenetic

activity, for all but Mike, who insists on making final checks before returning to the office to finish the day off.

And so to bed...until the alarm rings the next morning

when it’s back to yet more stationery orders that keep us on the go!

With the changes that have happened in the way that offices work and the switch from manual tasks to electronic communications, the business of supplying office stationery has changed too. Ranges that were once popular (remember

‘Kalamazoo’ and ‘Caribonum’?) have all-but disappeared and computer consumables are now high on the list.

So what’s it like on an average day in the Walters’ warehouse? We take a look...

We are stationery ...but we don’t stand still

05:30 DAY BEGINSThe warehouse team have arrived and

are busy preparing for the day ahead. Key-drop deliveries from

suppliers are being checked-in and other lorries

are arriving with the final products needed to fulfil yesterday’s orders. 06:00 ALREADY TIME FOR A BREAK!Once everything is checked-in it’s time for a breather and a much-needed strong coffee, while picking notes are being run and deliveries processed!08:00 TARGET-TIME TO BEGIN LOADING DELIVERY VEHICLESBy 8 o’clock most of the orders will have

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Inspiration into Action

During 2014 the Initiative range is being redesigned to make the offi ce a more inspiring place, from the reception to the board room.

Initiative will continue to bring you high quality and price-effi cient products that you can rely on time and time again.

Look out for the exciting new look range during 2014 and the chance to win some inspirational prizes!

A new look for your Initiative offi ce products

New for 2014


OPTIMISED END-TO-ENDPRINT SOLUTIONS

SAVE TIMESAVE ENERGYSAVE COST!DID YOU KNOW Walters have been a konica minolta authorised dealer for over 20 years? Supplying a full range of equipment guaranteed to save you money, energy and improve your efficiency?

WALTERS LTD19 Royce Road, Carr Road Industrial EstatePeterborough PE1 [email protected]

01733 707000

SAVE TIME SAVE ENERGY SAVE COST!

DID YOU KNOWWalters have been a konica minolta authorised dealer for over 20 years? Supplying a full range of equipment guaranteed to save you money, energy and improve your efficiency?

Grey on the outside

Green on the inside

They sit in the corner of the office, reliably printing, copying and scanning your documents on-demand. Few of us think what’s going on inside the essential, but almost

totally ignored, office copier or printer.Konica Minolta have gone to extraordinary lengths to make their latest multi-functional

document systems as efficient and environmentally-friendly as possible. Their cutting-edge R&D has put them at the forefront

of copier manufacture and have won them awards including Blue Angel, Energy Star

and Buyers Lab Inc.

Here are five things that you almost certainly didn’t know when you press the “print” or “copy” button...

1 MORE THAN 95% OF KONICA MINOLTA’S TONERS ARE POLYMERISED Plant-based toners have lower melting temperatures which consumes less electricity, uses less toner and creates 33% less CO2.

2 IT’S THERE WHEN YOU NEED IT - SAVING ENERGY WHEN YOU DON’T Built-in eco-timer switches the equipment on and off based on usage made possible by self analysis of actual activity over the previous four weeks.

3 REDUCED PACKAGING Overall packaging has been reduced by 20% and all non-recyclable materials have been removed from consumables and machines.

4 NEW SUSTAINABLE PLASTICS Plant-based bioplastic results in lower environmental impact by using less petroleum-based resources and emitting less CO2.

5 VERY LOW ENERGY CONSUMPTION Low power mode = 1 light bulb. Sleep mode = 100 times less!! (1w). Uses only enough power required to wake up the machine.

THEWalters | The Office | First edition Autumn 2013

11Printed copies of THE OFFICE magazine are produced using a Konica Minolta bizhub machine as shown above, printing up to 110 duplex pages per minute

Modern office life dictates many repetitious tasks and we all know that spending hours each day at a computer puts us at risk of a host of repetitive stress injuries related to monitor, mouse and keyboard use. But there are other dangers caused by the absence of general body motion that are now being commonly grouped under one name - sitting disease....................................................................

The British Journal of Sports Medicine recently stated Prolonged sitting should be considered within occupational health and safety policies just like other elements of posture.

...................................................................So, what are office furniture manufacturers creating for the modern workspace to help fight sitting disease? Multiple-height desks for working either sitting down or standing, multi-functional seating that harmonises with different working positions and flexible, consolidated document storage systems are all high on the list. Take a look at how AB Agri of

Peterborough, approached the epic task of replanning their offices to achieve better space efficiency, unite disparate teams and how they managed their complete furniture refit in conjunction with Walters.

GETTING TO GRIPS

WITH OFFICE PLANNING

How AB Agri created that all-important workspace that

ticks all the boxes for staff, is good for the environment (and keeps the

finance director happy too!)

“ “

DON’T JUST SIT

THERE!

DON’T JUST SIT

THERE!As work pressures grow, time spent glued to computers increases and commutes are extended – how are

we coping with more sedentary lives?

We take a look at the problems, the cures and what forward-looking

companies are doing to improve their work environments.


Like a military operation“Hassle-free installation with no office down-time was vital to this project.” continued Darren “With building contractors on-site turning divided office areas, storage facilities and meeting rooms into an open plan area together with internal IT technicians re-routeing power and computer cables, the major work was undertaken out-of hours. We had a formidable 15-man team on-site all weekend.”

After almost a year of planning, in just one weekend almost 100 workstations were changed - replacing old style furniture with new workstations, refurbishing usable existing components and reconfiguring seating arrangements.And to ensure the most cost-effective result for the project, surplus furniture was redistributed to other AB Agri regional offices.

How it all beganOffice space is key to the well-being, enthusiasm and productivity of your workforce. Over time, team structures change which often leads to desk layouts being wrongly configured and separates co-workers. AB Agri (Associated British Agriculture), a worldwide organisation based in Peterborough, experienced exactly this in 2012, and Walters were approached for consultancy and initial plans.

Tell it like it is!Quick to respond, Darren Tuck from Walters Office Interiors division, arranged visits to their fully-equipped showrooms for key stakeholders. He explained............................................ Getting buy-in at an early stage is vital. We wanted to demonstrate just some of the vast range of quality office furniture we can provide. We demonstrated modern, practical workstations with advanced cable management, ergonomic seating, desk top screens, re-positionable monitor arms and a selection of storage options. We asked them to tell us exactly what they thought...and they did!......................................... To ensure the furniture selection was exactly right, Senator, the UK’s largest manufacturer was chosen to partner the project and even provided their 35 foot-long mobile office showroom for demo purposes.

What about the waste?It’s Walters’ standard operation to include adherence to strict environmental policies, procedures and systems, as part of the selection criteria for suppliers. And with Senator they had a great example of how this should be done.Every scrap of packaging for the whole office refit, together with any unwanted or scrap furniture was removed and recycled through one of their three UK sites.

“

“

Above: Senator’s Freeway benching workstations and below under construction at AB Agri, Peterborough.

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Born in the UK

Global HeadquartersAltham Business ParkAccringtonLancashireBB5 5YET +44 [0]1282 725000

thesenatorgroup.com

Born In the UK ad.indd 1 16/07/2013 11:36

THEWalters | The Office | First edition Autumn 2013

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Amongst some of the initiatives that Walters have introduced are the extensive recycling of just about every disposable element of their business - from printer cartridges to drinks cans. They have also reduced fuel usage by combining delivery

routes to customers and using more environmentally-friendly vans, as well as encouraging employees to help by introducing staggered office hours, field-based roles and providing facilities for those cycling to work.

Environmental behaviour is becoming an increasingly

important criteria upon which companies are judged both by their customers and business partners. For Walters it’s been top priority for many years and they have achieved incredible results - take a look...

Here’s how green accreditation has changed

Walters’ operations...

The essence of a good, modern environmental policy is simply good business practice. None of us want to waste fuel or energy these days, it costs too much. Equally, printing large volumes of customer-facing documentation and then sending it through the mail is just as costly and labour-intensive. And when it comes to the disposal of waste...“All these operational elements formed the start-point for the environmental successes that we have had” commented Mandy Walters, Director of Walters and champion of environmental matters and CSR programme “but we didn’t stop there.” In 2010 Walters made their initial pledge to Investors in the Environment - a not for profit organisation designed to help the business sector reduce their impact on the environment. “From that point it got serious” continues Mandy “and with the help of every member of the team we attained the top-level Green Accreditation in April of this year - we are thrilled!”

• On line billing and statements reduced

paper consumption by 31% in one year

• Sustainable purchasing policy ensuring

green products and manufacturing

processes• Head office refurbishment to conserve

heat, maximise natural light and reduce

power consumption

• 85% reduction in landfill waste volume due

to a stringent recycling policy

Mandy and Mike Walters (centre) collect the coveted Green Award from Investors in the Environment.

Born in the UK

Global HeadquartersAltham Business ParkAccringtonLancashireBB5 5YET +44 [0]1282 725000

thesenatorgroup.com

Born In the UK ad.indd 1 16/07/2013 11:36

Turning over a new leaf

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If you want to get your hands on one of these...

click here www.walters.co.uk

To celebrate our fantastic new branding, we are giving away a personalised Apple iPad mini to the winner of our fun and easy-to-enter competition.Simply browse our new website at walters.co.uk and take a look at all the great new features, the stunning product line up in our new pictorial galleries and so much more.You’ll find the competition on the Walters Group page in the FIND OUT MORE section. Complete your contact details and answer three easy questions about the new Walters website...it couldn’t be easier!The competition is running until the end of October 2013 and the winner will be selected from the online entries that we have received up to the closing date.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your mouse, get online and an Apple iPad mini could be yours!Walters iPad competition runs from 2nd September to 31st October inclusive. The winner will be selected at random from online entries received by midnight on the closing date. The winner will be notified using the contact details entered on walters.co.uk at time of entry and will be shown in the next edition of The Office. No product exchange or cash alternative available.

Walters Limited . 19 Royce Road . Eastern Industry . Peterborough . PE1 5YB Telephone 01733 707000 . Fax 01733 708000 . Email [email protected] . www.walters.co.uk

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