Kosdown Printing is aiming for its acquisition of Melbourne offset firm Flash Print to boost turnover by $1m from new clients.
Kosdown director Derek Downie says Flash clients will have access to a wider range of services than the A3 offset Flash had, as his company has a full slate of services from A2 offset to digital and wide format.
“It is an alternative way to add sales and pick up a new client base, which is hard to do these days as cold calling does not work,” he says.
“It also saves us adding another sales rep, our staff will introduce themselves to the Flash clients and offer more services than they have had from one printer before.”
Kosdown has only bought the client base, so the Flash Collingwood facility will close and its equipment is gradually being sold off. The three staff have already got new jobs elsewhere in the industry.
[Related: More mergers and acquisitions]
Flash owner Ronnie Andrews approached Kosdown when he decided to have a lifestyle change now his children are grown up. Andrews plans to open a bed and breakfast in the Margaret River wine region in south-west WA.
Flash and Kosdown have had a business relationship for 20 years, with the smaller firm outsourcing any work it could not do, such as digital and signs.
“The Downie family has always looked after me since the beginning when I didn’t have four-colour machines, and I know they will do a great job for my clients,” he says.
Downie says Andrews has endorsed Kosdown to his clients and the feedback has been positive.
“Ronnie has a loyal client base and we do things a similar way to him, and a wider range of services, so it makes sense for them to stay on with us,” he says.
“We have had a great working relationship for 20 years.”
Kosdown, run out of Port Melbourne by brothers David and Derek Downie along with Sandra Downie, has a turnover of about $8m and prints a full range of jobs with a pair of four and five colour Komori offset presses, an MGI digital printer and a Vutek wide format machine.
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