‘Immensely proud’ - North East businessmen celebrate picking up two prestigious awards

Peter Smith and his business partner, Ian Bates, are celebrating picking up two prestigious printing industry awards at the Print Week Awards 2025.

The South Shields-born duo purchased Statex, which is based in Newcastle’s Kingston Park, a couple of years ago and have invested heavily in new equipment since then.

Their efforts have paid off after the picked up the ‘Innovation of the Year’ and ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’ at an awards ceremony in London earlier this month.

In receiving the awards, it means that the North East company was recognised by its peers and industry leaders as being a key player within the printing sector.

Peter has spoken of his pride at winning the awards and praised the team at Statex for their efforts in helping deliver the accolades for the company.

He said: “Myself and Ian, both raised in South Shields, are absolutely thrilled and immensely proud to have won both the ‘Innovation of the Year’ and ‘Marketing Campaign of the Year’ awards at the Print Week Awards 2025.

“These prestigious national accolades, recognised by our peers and industry leaders, are a testament to the dedication, creativity, and expertise of our incredible team at Statex.

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“From a personal perspective, I’m very proud to have been raised in the North East of England and it’s great that Statex and this area has been recognised on such a distinguished stage, particularly when we are up against some of the biggest names in print.

“This recognition reaffirms our commitment to pushing the boundaries of print technology and delivering exceptional solutions for our clients, all of which wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for our team at Statex and the support from our customers.”

You can find out more about Statex by visiting: https://statex.co.uk/.

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