Nestled amid the winding byways of the Somerset hills lies an "unusual beast" by the name of JF Print. The book printer is described in these terms by newly-arrived managing director and owner Peter Leach, who many describe as equally "unusual" (to put it politely) for his decision to buy into what is one of the toughest sectors in possibly the most competitive industry in the country during a recession. The route that led Leach to this "unusual" decision is almost as tortuous as the narrow country road that leads to JF Print's West Country site.

Having started his working life as an apprentice press minder for a weekly newspaper, Leach progressed via estimating into management, before ending up - after spells at BPC, Bath Press and Redwood Books - as the UK sales director for Spanish print giant Dedalo Group.

It was in this capacity that the seeds for JF Print were sown, as Leach found himself brokering work that the Spanish company couldn't do on schedule or occasionally on price. One of the printers Leach used was the Sparkford Printworks of automotive repair manual publisher Haynes Publishing Group, which he bought in March 2009 for £400,000.

"I originally approached them a couple of years ago and was told ‘no', in no uncertain terms. About twelve months ago, though, I was asked to put a serious proposal together," says Leach. "Buying the company was the most interesting challenge in my whole life. While we were putting the finance together one of our competitors went into administration. Some would see that as a positive thing, but it actually worked against us because the finance dried up."

Standalone operation
Fortunately, Leach was able to find the requisite backing and, if all goes to plan, JF Print will be debt-free and wholly-owned by its two directors - the other being sales director Keith Johnson - in three years time. But, how do the pair plan on turning a profit at an aging print site that Haynes sold for the simple reason that it was losing money.

"If you look at the industry, there are three clearly defined market sectors, each with their own players," he explains. "There's Butler, Tanner & Dennis, who are excellent at colour work; there's TJ International and MPG Books Group, who specialise in academic sheetfed mono; and then there's CPI and Clays, who are very good at high-volume mass-market trade books. We're a combination of all three."

The company's two perfecting Heidelberg presses, a two-colour and a five-colour, allow it to produce high-quality casebound books and to "dip in and out" of the mono academic books market, while its Solna 30-B coldset web press allows it to compete in the high-volume paperback market. "The key to our business, other than customer service, is flexibility," explains Leach. "We're not big enough to go up against the big players, and we wouldn't want to because it would drive down price, but we can pick up the crumbs off everybody else's table."

It may not sound glamourous, but Leach's business plan is working. The company turned a small profit in its first month's trading "as a direct result of increased sales". The turnaround to profitability for the former Haynes subsidiary is thanks, in part, to a number of "quick wins" that Leach identified before he bought the business. These include a pre-press upgrade, which has boosted plate output from 16 to 40 plates per hour, clearing what was previously the biggest bottleneck, and a potential bindery investment that could increase capacity by 42%.

However, while JF Print's first quarter as an independent company has gone to plan, the challenge will come at the start of next year, when its contract with Haynes comes up for review. Part of what made the deal possible for Leach was having a guaranteed amount of work coming from the printer's former parent company. Haynes remains by far and away JF Print's biggest customer and the success of Leach's contract renegotiation in 2010 could go a long way to securing the medium-term future for the company.

"We don't anticipate winning the whole contract next year," he says. "But it would be nice to have a chunk of it. It's just up to us to ensure that our quality and service wins the work."

Leach is certainly confident that he's onto a winner. Effusive in his praise of both his staff and JF Print as a whole, Leach believes he has a very strong and unique proposition, regardless of its simplicity. "One of the simplest pieces of furniture, is also the most stable - the three-legged milking stool," he says. "Our ability to operate in three separate sectors and to flex capacity in each according to demand is what makes the business work."

JF Print
Managing director Peter Leach
Based Sparkford, Somerset
Staff 43 permanent, 10 temporary
Sectors colour and mono books; journals
Equipment five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 FP, two-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 ZP, Solna 30-B Coldset Web Press, Muller Martini Monostar binding line, Kolbus DA240 Casemaker, Kolbus Compact 2000 Casing In Line, Kolbus Case Blocker