Advance Press has won a $6.3m tender to print timetables for Perth’s public transport system, and got in on a three-way multi-million dollar pool for WA Health Department print jobs.
The former Geon division will deliver typesetting, pre-press, printing, storage and distribution services for Transperth timetables and related work for the next five years, extending its 11-year relationship.
It will also join Perth printing staples Abbott & Co Printers and Scott Print in a three-year $2.2m panel to produce multi-page A3, A4, A5 and DL reports, brochures, flyers, posters, and other custom printed works for the WA Health Department.
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Advance Press director Paul Meloncelli says the two contracts, which both started July 1, will add significantly to the company’s bottom line, and are a testament to its consistent high-quality service and reliability.
“Winning government contracts is all about being good across the board,” he says.
“You have to tick all the boxes – quality, service, reliability, turnaround – and during the tender process they give you a score for each one and then consider price. Other clients might only consider a few of these.
“Reliability is a big deal since unlike one off jobs you have to be consistent all the time for years in a row.”
Meloncelli says having done work for Transperth for 11 years and Health for 15-20 years gave Advance Press an advantage since it grew to understand the client’s needs, but that tenders are always difficult.
“These tenders were extremely competitive. Some of the printers in the Health Department pool were replaced but we managed to stay on the list again,” he says.
“Government contracts give you good consistent income month to month which helps you manage your income and provide a base for growth.
“It is important to us to have that balance between government and private clients, and it makes up a fair percentage of our business.”
Meloncelli says things are now much more stable at the company, which emerged from the rubble of its former owner Geon in a management buyout, led by now-general manager Ian Smith, last April.
“It was over a year ago so it’s just part of our history now, so we are just forgetting about it and moving on,” he says.
[Related: More printers winning government contracts]
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