30 July 2018

MP Iain Duncan Smith visits local Chingford business Alternative Managed Services

On Tuesday 24 July, one of the hottest days the UK has seen this year, Iain Duncan Smith MP of Chingford and Woodford Green paid a visit to local business Alternative Managed Services and was warmly welcomed by Lewis Annis, Professional Print Manager and the rest of the Alternative team.

Alternative Managed Services, who were founded in 1992, and became a Canon authorised dealer in 1993, are a market leading, nationwide independent digital document solutions provider who have been based in Chingford since 1997 and have many employees who live in the local area.

Iain Duncan Smith first met with senior members of the team Simon Bridgewater, MD and Dave Allen, Sales Director who talked through Alternative's strategic aims and explained some of the challenges they face.

Allen commented, "We appreciate Iain taking the time to visit our growing business. As a former businessman himself it was great for us to be able to discuss our vision for the future and our current achievements along with plans for expansion. He took a real interest in why we have been so successful over such a long period of time and how we maintain staff loyalty by focusing on personal development. Our people centric approach is at the heart of what we do and really works for our staff and clients alike and IDS seemed to really appreciate this."

He was then taken on a tour of the offices by Lewis Annis and frequently stopped to talk to employees, engaging with local resident Marie O'Leary and active conservative party member Stelios Artemiou. Annis explained, "It was a pleasure to host Iain today, the genuine interest he showed in the business and our business processes from start to finish was very well received by everybody concerned". He also took the time to answer questions on Brexit, his own personal career and even found time to quiz staff on their football allegiance; with no fellow Tottenham Supporters found, it was time for the visit to end!

The Alternative team, who are members of the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF) gave Iain Duncan Smith a copy of the BPIF's UK Printing: The Facts and Figure document which highlights the economic importance of UK print and the BPIF's Priorities for Print brochure that explains to Government the printing industry's key priorities of productivity, profitability and promotion.

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