In this co-written article, Managing Director David Muncaster and Chair Sally-Anne Heaford reflect on the importance of women to Heaford’s success over the previous 45 years.

Women have been at the heart of Heaford since the business was founded in the early 1980s, sitting across the company’s workforce and successfully shaping culture, reputation, and commercial success.

Heaford is world renowned for its high-precision plate mounting and proofing systems that help flexo printers operate more efficiently and effectively. From humble beginnings in Manchester in 1982, Heaford has grown into an international business that hasn’t forgotten its roots: a strong, family-led culture that values integrity and long-term relationships alongside engineering excellence.

Women are essential in achieving this. They have stepped into strategic roles and influenced how the business thinks and behaves. They have worked with customers to ensure Heaford solutions meet their needs.

This has played a pivotal role in Heaford’s evolution and the important role of women in the business continues to this day. There are women in director and manager roles and many other who are integral to other areas of the business, from sales and finance, to production, service, and marketing.

Many print engineering businesses still have a gap when it comes to women in technical and commercial roles. Heaford’s experience tells a different story. When women are fully present across all business activities, the whole organisation becomes more resilient and more responsive. Another key factor is diversity across the Heaford global agent network and the increasing number of women in prominent roles, who not only bring strong organisational, customer support skills complemented by discipline but also provide technical input and direction.

At Heaford, women have helped keep the business grounded and reflective of the realities of pressroom life. They have helped make sure every machine built reflects how converters actually work. They have helped build a level of repeat business that many companies envy, with customers returning because they trust the people behind the machines. They also act as mentors and role models, showing younger colleagues that the flexo industry is a rewarding and successful career path for women.

This all translates into tangible results for the business and supports ongoing growth.

The wider flexo community is starting to recognise how much diversity matters. Fresh perspectives improve problem-solving, challenge habits, and open new pathways for innovation. Heaford is a real-world example of this.

When women sit at the table for technical, commercial, and operational decisions, ideas get tested from more angles, customer feedback is onboarded more clearly, and decisions are balanced with long-term relationships.

This is reflective of the wider flexo industry, which is a team game. Printers, pre-press houses, OEMs, and brands must work together across borders and time zones. Women play an important role in connecting that network through consistent and clear communications.

John Heaford, the company’s founder, built more than a manufacturing business. He and his wife Anne, who was key in establishing the company, set out a way of doing business that blended precision engineering with loyalty, honesty and personal connection. Women in the company, including directors, managers, agents, team leaders and skilled colleagues, have carried that culture forward, most of them long serving with decades of contribution between them.

For more than four decades, women have supported steady international growth, multiple export honours, and a global installed base of machines that customers trust to keep them competitive and operational.

The presence of these women has helped to create a workplace where respect feels genuine, where people stay and grow, and where new voices and opinions are encouraged.

The flexographic printing industry faces big shifts: digital disruption, new sustainability demands, and a changing workforce. Companies that reflect the diversity of the world they serve will be better placed to handle those changes.

Heaford’s long history of meaningful female involvement and empowerment shows what looks like in practice. When women are given the opportunity to lead, to innovate, and to represent, the result is stronger companies, better customer outcomes, and a healthier industry. Heaford is ensuring this continues for decades to come and that the role women play in shaping the business and defining the future of flexo is recognised, celebrated, and championed.