BGM appoints new managing director

Bar Graphic Machinery (BGM), which Duplo acquired in August 2025, has appointed Adam James as its new managing director. James will begin his new role on September 16 at Labelexpo Europe in Barcelona.
 
Peter Jolly, chief information officer at Duplo International and a company director of BGM, commented: 'We are absolutely delighted to secure the services of Adam as our new managing director at BGM. Adam’s extensive experience in the labels and flexible packaging industry, combined with his history of helping to guide a company through an acquisition, made him a standout candidate. As a former buyer of label equipment, Adam will give BGM a unique perspective on the market requirements and help support product development with our brilliant BGM design team.'
 
James will work alongside founders Bill and Annemarie Rhodes, who will stay in the business as it transitions under the new ownership of Duplo. He will report into a group of Duplo International BGM Directors who will support James as he drives the BGM business plan, much like his role at CS Labels, reporting into the Asteria Group.
 
Talking about his role at BGM, James commented: 'Joining BGM as managing director after Duplo's purchase is very exciting, as with my experience of being an end-user and managing a label company, I have a great insight into what converters require. I have been in the labels/packaging industry for over twenty-five years. It's the staff that make a business, and the team here at BGM is excellent, producing some very well-engineered machines over the years under Bill and Annemarie. We are small enough to listen and big enough to produce in good volumes. Moving forward, we have some great product ideas in the pipeline, designed to benefit both operators and businesses alike.'
 
James started his career at Amberley Labels in Blandford, Dorset, in 2000, in store and dispatch. Then James moved to the ‘shop floor’, including running the Mark Andy 4200 label press, eventually moving up to the role of production manager. In 2009, he moved to CS Labels in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, as production manager, then operations director. And, since Asteria purchased the company in 2021, James has been joint managing director.