THE ‘coming of age’ of a Powys company that started out making bags was celebrated by its staff this week – including by some there from day one.

The Clever Baggers, based in Four Crosses, recently celebrated the company’s 18th anniversary of being founded.

Operations manager Helen Longhurst, who has been with The Clever Baggers since it was founded by husband-and-wife team Vivian and Louise Lacey-Johnson, said she could not believe how far the company has come.

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She said: “It’s astonishing looking back at how much has changed over the years.

“We started with just the one print process: traditional screen printing, but using eco-friendly water-based inks rather than the solvent-based inks which were then almost universal across the industry.

“After the first few years, we introduced the option for customers to buy plain unprinted products direct from our website, followed by heat press printing and direct-to-garment digital printing so that we could offer custom printed products with no minimum order.

“We’ve upgraded our machinery several times, with the most recent being a full upgrade of all equipment used in the screen printing process to new and modern, more energy efficient, models that offer improvements in ease of operation as well as greater reliability than our previous ageing equipment.”

The Clever Baggers have also expanded their range of products, from the original cotton bags and tea towels to include aprons, cushion covers, zip pouches, and most recently adding garments to their range including some fun Christmas t-shirts printed with designs created by their in-house Studio team.

The company’s main product range includes a wide variety of styles and colours, with high levels of stock held on-site, and for customers with highly specific requirements, a fully bespoke service can be offered.

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Managing director Darren Davies also praised his staff’s work for adapting and coming up with new ways to improve their products.

He said: “I thank the whole team for their hard work and continued dedication to improving quality and delivering the best result possible for customers whether their order is for a single item or thousands.”

For more about the company, head to https://www.thecleverbaggers.co.uk/