Industrial Printing Company general manager Steve Scott told ProPrint that the Lithgow-based business had ended its focus on turnover and now hoped to boost its net profit from 5% to 10% this financial year.
“You’re too vulnerable if you don’t have a decent profit margin. If you don’t have cash, you die,” he said.
“For a lot of years, we focused on turnover, but the reality is you can get a lot of work through the place but that doesn’t mean you make profit, so we’re trying to push the products we make more margin on.”
Scott said Industrial Printing had invested $500,000 this calendar year in new equipment and training for its 45 staff.
The firm installed a Kodak Prosper S5 imprinting system and Ricoh Pro C901 digital press in April in an effort to land more value-added work with higher margins, he said.
[Related: NSW regional printer grows network]
Ongoing training and a new workflow administration system were introduced to give staff a better understanding of the production process and to remove bottlenecks, he added.
Scott told ProPrint that the reduction in turnaround times had allowed Industrial Printing to win a $20,000 continuous stationery job it wouldn’t otherwise have landed. The job involved printing 600,000 forms in July and then another 300,000 in September.
The efficiency drive has also made the firm consider putting solar panels on its roof to cut its electricity usage by 60%, said Scott.
Industrial Printing’s offset line-up includes an Edelman Web Print 485, two Edelman FormPrints, two Edelman Junior Prints, two Morgan continuous printers, a five-colour Didde press, a Manroland 202, a two-colour Heidelberg GTO 52, a one-colour Heidelberg GTO 52 and a Komori Lithrone 528 with coater, said Scott.
The digital section includes a Konica Minolta Bizhub Pro C6501 and Ricoh Pro 1357, he said.
The business was started in 1966 by Scott’s parents, David and Joy Scott, who live on the premises. About 95% of its clients are in Sydney, said Scott.
[LinkedIn: Would you rather grow revenue or margins?]
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter