Nostalgia kicks in: our 40-year history, 1977 to 2017
6th February 2017

Nostalgia kicks in: our 40-year history, 1977 to 2017

We've turned 40! Let's take a look back over the years and see how far we've come.

January 1977 – working from the garage beside his bungalow on Firwood Drive, Glasgow, 27-year-old Arthur Michael Steven (otherwise known as Mike) decides to start selling copier paper to local companies. ‘Clyde Paper Sales’ is born!

February 1977 – a month later on 8th February, Mike makes his very first sale: five reams of A4 copier paper at £1.99 per ream, for Gas Measuring Instruments, a manufacturing company in Renfrew, just outside Glasgow.

1982 – Clyde takes on the Multicopy brand – a high quality copier paper range, loved by customers because it doesn’t jam in photocopiers, a rare luxury at this time!

1987 – after ten years of hard work and more new clients (many of whom are still cherished Clyde customers to this day), the big moment has arrived… Clyde relocates to new premises on the south side of Glasgow. Farewell to the faithful garage, this is a huge step forward to full warehouse and office facility!

1988 – Clyde becomes an official Xerox distributor – a significant move forward.

1989 – to meet the demands of an ever-growing client base, Clyde starts making its own deliveries, purchasing a tail-lift truck and taking on a new recruit - Eric - as its driver. (Until now, Clyde has been outsourcing its delivery services.)

1991 – over the past three years since 1988, Clyde’s turnover has multiplied by 2.5 times.

1993 – now with four staff and stock coming in by the container load, Clyde has outgrown the Glasgow south side premises and moves to new larger premises north of the river Clyde on South Street, incorporating a 5000 sq ft warehouse.

1996 – the Clyde team grows to seven staff as additional members join, including two of Mike’s daughters; and an additional truck is purchased (the bright blue one pictured above!).

1998 – Clyde branches into print management. Also Mike’s eldest son, Simon (currently Sales Director), joins the company, followed a year later by his younger brother Ben (now Operations Director).

2001 – with a total of ten staff, two trucks and many clients throughout the UK, Clyde relocates yet again, this time to our existing premises on Craigton Road, providing more spacious offices and significantly increased storage space, with a 22.000 sq ft warehouse plus a separate 6000 sq ft warehouse on the same site.

2006 – Clyde Paper Sales rebrands and becomes Clyde Paper & Print.

2008 – in response to growth in the digital print sector, Clyde’s product offering expands to include a range of digital papers and other specialist media.

2009 – Clyde becomes an official supplier of Exercise Books and Papers to schools, after successfully bidding in a government tender.

2010 – Clyde acquires Design Direct, which was formerly part of Doncaster-based Heatherbank Design Supplies.

2016 – With customer service and convenience of ordering always in mind, Clyde launches its brand new website, allowing customers to buy their supplies online. A new range of large-format print media is also launched under the brand name of DesignGraphics.

2017 – Clyde incorporates into a limited company under the registered name of CPP Trading Group Ltd (Clyde Paper & Print and Design Direct remain its trading names). A full office refurb project is also underway – having started in the latter part of 2016 it is now very nearly complete!

Thanks to our loyal customers, we’re still going strong 40 years later and continuing to grow!

On that note, join in with our 40th Birthday celebrations this month by following us on Facebook for a chance to win one of our giveaways!