Minuteman Press franchise in Welshpool, Perth WA acquired 15-year-old independent print shop Images on Paper in May 2021, with the company’s owner Rod Hambley saying that the move has since helped his business “double and even triple his monthly sales”.
Following the acquisition, Hambley has now merged staff from both businesses and has been producing more in-house orders with the equipment that was added.
The result, he said, includes a record sales month for his 17-year business.
“We’ve clearly had sustained business growth since the acquisition. Sales for both new and existing clients are in line with past turnover for both,” he mentioned.
As for how the acquisition of Images on Paper came about, Hambley said it was a combination of him being proactive in looking at local acquisition targets in his area as well as the local Minuteman Press outreach campaign initiated by regional vice-president Glenn Coyle.
“We have had our eye on this business in the area for several years among others. I have done smaller acquisitions over the years that were successful as I still have some clients from those. I saw Images on Paper as a good prospect where the owner might be looking to retire, and Glenn Coyle also identified them through an acquisition campaign,” he said.
“The benefit to the seller was to save on brokerage costs, and the benefit to me was the increased sales as well as merging staff and added equipment for in-house jobs.”
Coyle reached out to Images on Paper and set up a confidential meeting back then with the owner Harry and his wife Robyn.
“We chatted for a while and after we got to know each other and I learned about their business, we all moved forward with a plan for Rod to acquire the business if all went well so Harry and Robyn could sell the business and retire,” Coyle mentioned.
“Once I looked over the paperwork they provided, I met with Harry and Robyn again and told them my plan to introduce their business to Rod. They were happy for me to do this. After Rod met with Harry and Robyn, things went well, and they ultimately came to an agreement on price, terms, equipment, staff, and changeover date.”
Hambley has owned his Minuteman Press printing franchise in Welshpool since March 2005. The business now celebrates 17 years in operation. Prior to buying the Minuteman Press franchise in Welshpool, he worked in the banking industry.
“I was in banking for 25 years and worked as branch manager for several banks. I found Minuteman Press at a franchise show and in gaining a rapport with the regional vice-president, I saw this as a viable option I could venture to when finished at the bank,” Hambley said.
Under Hambley’s leadership and following the acquisition of Images on Paper, the Minuteman Press franchise has continued to grow its core business.
“Our core business is always in high demand. We offer our clients high quality printing from our wide format machine which produces posters, signage, and stickers of all shapes and sizes. Our digital machine prints booklets, flyers, business cards, and much more. We also still run an offset machine for NCR Books, envelopes, and spot colour work that are all still in demand,” he said.
“It is important for local businesses to market and promote themselves. We can design and produce the items they need for those purposes, and they also need printing of workbooks, forms, and plenty of other items for their operations as well.”
In giving advice to others looking to own a business, Hambley added, “Be prepared to work hard and find good staff. Also, you should ensure that you have steady cash flow and enough for a rainy day or two.”
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