It is also searching for locations in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester and plans to have a regional presence by the end of next year.
This is the US firms second attempt to become a player in the UK quickprint market. It opened its first UK branch in 1997 with the backing of Virgin, but never grew beyond a few central London stores, despite bold growth projections.
It acknowledged that it needed to tailor its approach to suit the UK market rather than just import its American operating style. A team of UK management with a broad range of quickprint and FM experience has been assembled.
Managing director Martin Baker, who was previously at AlphaGraphics, heads it up. Other senior staff include development manager Jim Barton, who joined from Hobbs the Printers, financial director Francis Laryea and operations manager Stuart Nicol.
In addition to appointing between 15 and 28 staff at each new site, the firm is setting up a national team to deal with multi-location firms. It claimed to already have some clients like this, but declined to name them.
The firm is also offering off-site or on-site facilities management services for clients.
As well as the new sites, Kinkos is investing in new equipment for its existing locations, among them a fleet of Xerox 2060s ordered this week, including two machines for two branches. It is working with an unnamed London-based printer for litho work.
Kinkos wouldnt reveal any details on the level of investment in the UK, but its US parent is providing sufficient backing to complete its plans.
Story by Barney Cox
