It's not every printer that has the Federal Minster for Industry open its new production centre, but with 15 per cent year on year growth Greenridge Press, located in Toowoomba, is not every printer. In fact Greenridge is not owned by a printer, but by accountant Mark Osborne and his wife Fran, who 18 months ago upped their initial 50 per cent stake in the business to 100 per cent.
That increase in stake to total ownership was accompanied at the same time by a $1.5m investment in a five colour A3 Ryobi and the Esko Graphics Backstage digital workflow, (which Osbourne describes as simply wonderful) and the company has now spent a further $2m, moving into the A2 sector for the first time with a new Ryobi 755 five colour press, the latest to be supplied by the Cyber business. Accompanying the new 755 press is the company's first metal CTP unit, an ECRM Mako 4, and a new Horizon Stitchliner finishing solution.
Mark Osborne says, "The increase in our capacity has been driven by a client base that is truly national. We have been able to achieve this as technology has revolutionised the printing industry and, what would normally take days to prepare can be made and sent
electronically to anywhere on the planet in seconds. The cleverness of it all never fails to fascinate me."
Indeed the Federal minister Ian MacFarlane said when opening the new facility "Toowoomba is ideally located to service the whole of Australia with printing needs."
However it clearly takes much more than being internet savvy to grow a print business well and consistently, even with the internet now making the country a village, and Mark Osborne says the key reason for the enviable growth of Greenridge is down to service, he says, "We service our accounts, it is a very big part of all that we do. We offer proposals and a business relationship that is readily appreciated by existing and new clients, and we deliver on our promises."
Interestingly Greenridge also targets specific customers, rather than the traditional approach of identifying market sectors. He says, "We will take a total approach to winning new business. We will assess a potential client's print requirements, we may even conduct a print audit for the, then we will present an optimum print service to them. We go in fairly aggressively, and it is surprising how many companies out there don't know all the options that are available to them. We provide a vision of change that will bring benefits to their business."
Exceed expectations
This approach is clearly working, for Greenridge has won some fairly decent accounts from Sydney, despite being located 150k west of Brisbane. Osborne says, The internet is a great tool, and I can be on a flight almost immediately down to Sydney if required. Greenridge also readily acknowledges that he is not always the cheapest option, but says, "We offer better value, and we aim to exceed the expectations of our customers, and when we do, which we do, they are more than happy."
The move into A2 is a major but necessary step for Greenridge, as it will enable the company to handle all its increasing workload in-house. Osborne says, :We choose Ryobi presses because they deliver all we require. The quality and service are of the highest order, and the investment level is keen."
The new Ryobi 755 is the fourth Ryobi that Greenridge has invested in, and will now take the lead role in a trio modern presses. Osbourne says, "We are very happy to deal with the agency, Cyber, because they do business the way that we like to do business. They are completely professional and committed to looking after our best interests."
Kyal Osborne, general manager of the operation, said "These days, printing companies must provide creativity and speed, and technology drives the agenda. This new upgrade will ensure our staff have all the right tools to work with and our clients expectations and demands are met even better than before."
Clearly Greenridge is doing something right, the mixture of new technology, the digitalisation of the workflow, the focus on service and the targeting of specific clients have all added up to deliver a strong business for this Osborne family.
