On 14 September 2026, six new apprentices began their training at the Timsons works in Kettering — three joining the machine shop, two going into fitting and one starting in the foundry. It marks the company's first apprentice intake in over fifteen years.
"This intake is the start of a new generation of Timsons innovators," said Giovanni Piazza, Managing Director of Timsons. "The engineers trained at this works built the presses the world's books were printed on, and these six will help guide the industry into its next phase of innovation. We are delighted to welcome them."
One site, start to finish
Timsons casts, machines and assembles every press under a single roof: components are poured in the works' own foundry, finished in its own machine shop and built up on the same floor. The new apprentices are entering precisely those disciplines. They will work alongside the teams responsible for building and supporting the T48A, the T48A ZMR and the Rotary FlexFold, as well as keeping Timson machines installed decades ago running in daily production.
Building momentum
The new recruits arrive at a turning point for the business. Clays, Britain's largest single-site book printer, has placed an order for two ZMR presses for its Bungay facility, with additional machines scheduled through 2027. With production ramping up and a growing order book, Timsons is well placed to reclaim its position at the front of the industry across Europe and North America.
Meet the 2026 intake
130 years of engineering, handed on
Printing machinery has been designed and built by Timsons in Kettering since 1896, and the company launched its first structured apprenticeship programme in 1950 — a route many of its current senior engineers followed themselves. This month's six new starters continue that lineage, taking on the skills that made the company and carrying them forward into its next era.
