Focus Print Group is entering the wide format sector with the acquisition of 25-year-old print business – Whitehorse Digital and Printing. Mark Shergill, Focus Print Group managing director, has been on an aggressive acquisition trail for the last two years, acquiring Rainbow Printing in February and now Sydney-located Whitehorse. Speaking with Australian Printer, Shergill says it was as great opportunity, and he could not resist not getting in wide format printing, which Whitehorse specialises in.
Mark Shergill buys Whitehorse Digital Printing
Shergill says, “We have not done a lot of it [wide format] so now with this acquisition we are testing the waters to see the potential before expanding our wide format section further. “The business will now have wide format capability, which is a growing sector, and since we provide a wide range of other services it made sense to also have a wide format capability.” While this is the seventh overall and the second acquisition for Focus in just four months this year, Shergill is not done yet. He says, “We are looking at another business at the moment, which will also expand our services, but since we have not closed the deal yet, I don’t want to say what sector of the business is will grow or add to. “It has been our strategy to acquire various businesses to expand and ensure we can provide our customers a wide range of services, which now includes wide format.” Shergill says Focus has doubled the number of its employees in the last three years, and the Whitehorse acquisition means another three full-time and one part-time employee will be added to that number, which now sits at 100 staff. “The owner of Whitehorse and two of its staff will join us. Peter Cheung, owner of Whitehorse Digital and Printing, will help with the transition of the business. Plus he has a lot of knowledge and skills in wide format, which we also need.” However, while Focus has been growing fast the managing director says it needs a lot of work and attention to ensure it grows prosperously. Shergill says, “After the next acquisition we are planning to turn our full attention to the company and ensure all areas of the business experiences growth.” Cheung told Australian Printer that the area his small to medium sized business, with a yearly turnover of $1m with 10 staff, was operating in was becoming more residential, which meant his business was shrinking. “Most of the businesses have moved. I am one of the last ones to leave. It will be good for me as after I help with the transition period at Focus, I will be able to the things I love, which is helping homeless youth,” Cheung says. “I plan to travel to China and help the young children providing them with education and a place to stay. So that is why I am retiring from the print industry. “I think everyone should spend their free time helping those who need it and I am this is what I want to do.”
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