Mercian Labels launches new website

Self-adhesive label manufacturer Mercian Labels has launched a new website at www.selfadhesivelabels.com.

Focusing on the short-run UK SME sector, the website was originally launched in 2001 but has now been overhauled.

It is the sixth time Mercian has relaunched the site, and the latest version focuses on the wide variety of end users for the company's Xeikon digital labelling offer.

The revamped website has a new look and more content than before, helping users locate the type of label design and feature they require, and includes new product icons, search functions, design services and further resources.

It is fully compatible with touchscreen devices and mobile platforms.

Mercian Labels group managing director Dr Adrian Steele said: ‘The online marketing space in UK business-to-business labelling has really hotted up in the past 18 months and we felt the site needed yet another major overhaul to keep at the forefront of the market in terms of style, features and information for new and existing customers.

‘Our long established label industry blog has also received a facelift in the process.’

At the same time, Mercian Labels has launched a second website to help the company in its recruitment drive through a unique online registration system.

The portal, at www.mercianlabels.com/careers, invites label and packaging industry professionals potentially interested in working for the group to consider the detailed recruitment process used before registering their private contact details so they are informed about vacancies that are specific to their skill set before they are publicly advertised.

Steele added: ‘Hiring the right talent is a challenge for any business, but as we continue to grow we have taken a strategic decision to grow our own, confidential database of professionals who may be interested in a role within the group by giving it a public facing front end on our corporate website.

‘Historically we very rarely hire from within the industry, preferring to train people with great potential demonstrated from performance in other industries into the labels and packaging industry. However, sometimes specialist roles do benefit from knowledge gained elsewhere within the industry.

‘This database is totally confidential and will allow us to selectively contact people with the specific background we are looking for when recruiting, without the overhead burden that a public recruiting campaign involves. A recent recruitment process for an entry-level role advertised online for four days brought 161 applications, so we then decided to try another way for the best candidates and us to find each other.

‘In the future, when we can find suitable candidates who have previously registered their interest with us, we will interview only from this shortlist. Only if this fails to identify the right candidate will we advertise externally. We expect that over time many generalist local candidates in the Midlands around Cannock and Derby, as well as label industry specialists nationwide with very specialist and specific skill sets, will want to join this database to find out first about the career opportunities on offer across the group.’

Steele concluded: ‘2012 was yet another record year for the Mercian Labels group and our seventh year of consecutive growth.

‘Customers clearly want to take advantage of our digital labeling and packaging offering and recognize Mercian as being at the forefront of these developments. These new websites help keep us at the cutting edge of the UK labeling industry, and we will have further announcements at the Packaging Innovations show later in February.’

Read more about Mercian Labels on labelsandlabeling.com