Richard Edward was founded in 1976 when brothers David and John Moger installed a £200 litho press in their garage. David had to persuade the neighbours that the noise was being made by a lawnmower, but eventually the company moved to a split-level commercial site in Deptford, south-east London, before relocating in 1990 to its current location, a 2,970m plant in Thamesmead. 

The company was run as a straight commercial printer until 1995, when it diversified into card products. “We made quite a brave decision about this investment because we bought the lease when previously we were renting,” says the firm’s marketing director Louisa Moger. “But we wanted a 24-hour operation and everything under one roof.” 

Richard Edward purchased two Manroland presses, a six-colour and a 10-colour, as it geared up to a move from small business to medium-sized enterprise. Louisa Moger adds: “In 1995, my dad saw an opportunity in card and by stretching our resources, we created a product offering that would take us into new markets and diversify the business.”

Challenging market
But in the 1990s, volumes declined, competition grew and times got tough. The period between 1998 and 2002 was particularly hard and accumulated losses rose to £1m. “We were not managing our processes efficiently. We were throwing resources at jobs to get the work out but losing money,” says Louisa.

In 2002, the company took a step back to assess what was happening. In the same year, joint-founder John Moger retired, Louisa (David’s daughter) joined the firm and its current managing director, Kevin Scott, bought a 28% stake. “Kevin saw potential and was very passionate about the business. My dad remained very operational and I started putting the business piece behind production,” she says.

Together they devised a change management programme, analysing the current state of the business – where it needed to improve, and what it might face over the next five years. The plan covered everything: operations, finance, IT, marketing, staff and strategy. “We looked at every discipline, pulling them together like parts of a jigsaw,” she says.

By 2004, the strategy seemed to be delivering results; the firm broke even with a £3.5m turnover, which then increased to £4.7m the following year. “Everything was going extremely well and we put in an enormous amount of hard to work to hit our targets,” explains Louisa.

But then disaster struck. On 13 February 2006, the firm’s £1.5m 10-colour press, responsible for 80% of its work, snapped in two when the floor beneath it subsided. “It was completely written-off,” she remarks. “The cylinder went and suddenly we were out of action for nine months with no presses on site.”

Turnaround
“It was then that I was really thankful that we had developed the change management programme,” she says. “As part of it, we had put together a disaster recovery plan.” The team had identified strategic partners that the firm could work with if support was ever needed. Thankfully, this planning was also part of the ISO 9001 work that it had been doing. The biggest challenge was, of course, how to remain operational without any presses. “We leant on our staff, made sure we had five suppliers of print and acutely managed our time scales and logistics,” says Louisa. “Because we had set up such a detailed change management programme, we didn’t lose a single client.”

The firm turned calamity into an opportunity. In the nine months the site was without its main press, all employees were given a minimum of 72 hours training and 32 staff gained NVQ qualifications. It continued to work towards ISO 9001 and identified opportunities in Europe through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with Greenwich University.

After getting the all-clear from its insurers, Richard Edward completed a £3.6m investment programme, fitting a brand new 10-colour Manroland 700 long perfector and five-colour Manroland with IR drying. “When we re-launched in November, it was like a new beginning and it was a fantastic feeling,” recalls Louisa. “The business was doing well and we were on target to turn over £6m. And then Dad died.”

The sudden and tragic loss of her father, then chairman at Richard Edward, came while Louisa was heavily pregnant and signed off on maternity leave. “The news came as a great shock to everyone,” she remembers. “He was due to walk 500 miles across the Pyrenees a month later, raising £25,000 for charity.”

Preserving the legacy
Great admiration for her father helped Louisa come to grips with the loss, while strong succession planning provided some support for the firm during such difficult times. “My father embodied Richard Edward. The company was his baby. It was a case of running the business and making it his legacy so we had to keep going,” she says. In September last year, the firm recorded a £6m turnover, with a net profit of 2.7%.

The firm gained ISO 9001 last year after three years of detailed preparation. It has also worked hard on its environmental credentials, achieving Green Mark Level 2, and was recently awarded Investors in People accreditation.

Setting up the card division has proved a canny move, with card work now responsible for 55% of total business. The firm has identified the promotions and games sector in the card market as two areas it wants to develop. “We repositioned ourselves to promote each of our business units separately,” says Louisa. The firm has also expanded its team to include a project coordinator, operations manager and business development manager.

Like most printers, Richard Edward expects 2008 to be tough, but, as you might expect, it has devised a detailed plan to help deal with potential hurdles. “External circumstances haven’t hit us like a ton of bricks,” says Louisa. “We have early warning flags that mean we can manage and adapt quickly to a changing economic climate.”

During that nine-month period, before the new kit was installed, the company’s perspective changed completely. The business moved away from a reliance on equipment and realised the importance of capabilities and competence. “We have human capital. I think of what our staff have been through and yet I can count turnover on one hand,” says Louisa. “Our staff are the best in the industry.”

Progressive thinking and passion continue to take Richard Edward forward. The firm is now using these resources to focus on more design- and marketing-based work in a bid to forge deeper relationships with clients. “I want print to be valued again, not just bought as a commodity,” Louisa explains. “I want buyers to understand what is involved in print, and how hard a good printer has to work to stay on top.”

PRINTER Richard Edward
TURNOVER £6m
STAFF 50
SECTOR Commercial and card products
PROBLEM Coping with an unexpected crisis   
SOLUTION Implemented a change management programme

INSPECTION LESSONS
Coping with a crisis

• Manage processes efficiently. It is important to put the business pieces, including planning and marketing, behind production 
• Make a change. Devise a change management programme by analysing the state of the business – what needs improving and what problems you might face over the next five years. Examine each of the individual business disciplines,from operations through to strategic planning
• Prepare for the worst. Put together a disaster recovery plan. Identify strategic partners you could work with if support was ever needed and work out how to remain operational without your most vital equipment
• Be a team player. Work closely with your staff and ensure they are well trained and understand the value of the business. Build a workforce that you can rely on
• Turn crisis into opportunity. Use any downtime effectively by catching up on staff training or reviewing the business. Identify other areas and markets that you want to develop. Assess if existing resources can be stretched to create new product offerings and diversify the business
• Plan for the future. Succession planning is crucial as is implementing early-warning systems that will help you to identify, manage and adapt quickly to a changing business climate