Reaching 25 years in business is a significant milestone for any company, particularly in industries shaped so heavily by changing technology, manufacturing and customer expectations.
For We Print Lanyards, the last 25 years have seen the business evolve from visitor management software into UK lanyard manufacturing, while continuing to adapt alongside the way organisations work, identify visitors and manage security.
Speaking as part of the company’s 25-year milestone, founder Malcolm reflected on the early days of the business, the move into manufacturing and the moments that helped shape where the company is today.
Starting with Visitor Management Software
Before lanyards became part of the business, the company focused entirely on visitor management systems.
Malcolm explained that much of the early direction came from his interest in software systems and understanding how technology could improve workplace processes. Development work began before the company was formally established, working alongside programmers John Bolton and Mel Fletcher at Central One Software.
After around six months of development, the business secured its first sales in 2001, including work with Tate Britain or Tate Modern, one of which remains a customer today.
At the time, electronic visitor management systems were still relatively uncommon. Most organisations relied on paper sign-in books, which made moving businesses across to digital systems a gradual process.
For a young company introducing a different way of managing visitors, changing long-established habits was not always straightforward. Convincing organisations to move away from paper systems often required persistence, patience and repeated conversations over time.
As Malcolm reflected, moving organisations from paper-based systems to electronic visitor management “took forever and still takes forever now.”
The early success of VMLite, particularly with customers such as Tate Modern, helped validate that there was a genuine long-term future for digital visitor management systems.
How Customer Requests Helped Shape the Business
The move into identification products happened naturally through customer demand.
Early systems included visitor badges and contractor passes, but the launch of VM Pro introduced more advanced membership and ID functionality. This led to products such as self-laminating ID cards that could be printed using standard office equipment.
As customers continued asking for additional products, the business gradually expanded further into plastic ID cards and online card management systems.
Rather than following a fixed long-term roadmap, much of the company’s development came from listening to what customers actually needed and building products around those requests.
That pattern continued throughout the following years, with new systems, access control integrations and eventually hosted visitor management products developing alongside changing customer requirements.
Much of the company’s growth happened incrementally, with products and manufacturing capabilities expanding in response to customer demand rather than through a single defined plan.
Building Hosted Software Before Cloud Became Standard
One of the major milestones Malcolm reflected on was the launch of VM Easy around 2010.
At a time when many business systems still ran entirely on local computers, the company moved towards hosted software products. Internally, the term “cloud” was barely being used yet, but the system was already operating through hosted infrastructure years before cloud software became standard business terminology.
This period also marked a point where Martin Bailey (MARTINS CURRENT ROLE ADD LATER) became more heavily involved in developing and evolving the software platform. VM Easy combined visitor management with door access control, helping broaden the system beyond visitor sign-ins alone.
Looking back, Malcolm described this period as one of the moments that stood out most across the company’s history.
By this stage, the business had grown beyond visitor sign-ins alone, with identification products and access control becoming a much larger part of the overall offering.
The Move into Lanyard Manufacturing
While software remained central to the business, manufacturing gradually became a major part of the company’s future.
We Print Lanyards began manufacturing lanyards in 2012, initially using relatively simple screen-printing processes. Early production involved ready-made lanyards, manual screen-printing equipment imported from America and hand assembly carried out using sewing machinists.
Compared to today’s setup, the operation was much smaller and more manual, with production relying heavily on paper job packets rather than digital touch-screen systems.
As demand increased, the business moved into dye sublimation printing, which significantly expanded production capabilities but also required much larger infrastructure investment.
Malcolm explained that the decision to manufacture in the UK was largely driven by customer expectations around lead times. At the time, overseas production simply could not provide the turnaround speeds customers were looking for.
Keeping production in-house also allowed the business to maintain greater control over quality and consistency, while continuing to support UK manufacturing.
Over time, the business developed from a small manufacturing operation supporting existing visitor management customers into a standalone brand supplying organisations across education, healthcare, events, workplaces, charities and sport.
Today, We Print Lanyards manufactures in the UK using recycled rPET materials as standard across its printed lanyard ranges.
How Marketing Changed Over 25 Years
Marketing looked very different in the early 2000s.
Outbound telesales, postal campaigns and magazine advertising formed a major part of the company’s marketing activity. Digital campaigns and online advertising were far less prominent than they are today.
Malcolm described much of the early marketing approach as trial and error, finding what worked and then trying to repeat it consistently.
Looking back now, he reflected on how dramatically communication and marketing channels have changed, particularly with the shift towards online platforms and digital-first customer journeys.
As the business evolved, marketing evolved alongside it, moving from print adverts and outbound sales activity towards online ordering systems, digital campaigns and direct customer engagement.
Navigating Difficult Periods
Not every part of the company’s history was straightforward.
Malcolm reflected on the financial crash of 2008 and 2009 as one of the most difficult periods for the business, describing how uncertain the future felt at the time.
Despite those challenges, the business continued evolving through new products, software systems and manufacturing capabilities.
That ability to adapt remains one of the themes running throughout the company’s history. Over 25 years, the business has continually evolved alongside changing technology, customer expectations and the industries it supports.
Looking Ahead After 25 Years
While the business has evolved significantly since its early software-focused beginnings, the core approach behind it has remained fairly consistent: building reliable products, listening to customer requirements and continuing to manufacture in the UK.
Reflecting on the milestone, Malcolm described seeing the business develop over 25 years as “wonderful,” while also expressing pride in how far the company’s production systems and manufacturing capabilities have progressed.
Today, We Print Lanyards supplies organisations across education, healthcare, events, corporate workplaces, charities and sport, with UK-manufactured lanyards and identification products produced in-house.
In 2025, the business became part of CCL Industries, the global labels and specialist packaging company, marking another significant milestone in the company’s development while manufacturing continued to remain in Long Eaton.
For a company that began with visitor sign-in software and manually screen-printed lanyards, the last 25 years have involved continual adaptation, with each stage helping shape the business into what it is today.