“I’m really excited, I had been debating for a while if I wanted to come back to the industry and invest in a print business and I just felt the time was right,” said Moss, who will become a main board director of Callprint and work closely with managing director Steve Cheek.
“Callprint is a great business with a good reputation and has a scope of offering that I’ve never really been able to offer clients before, especially with things like 3D printing, and they’re one of the best kept secrets in the industry. And they’re ready for expansion.”
The deal was signed last Thursday (10 July).
Callprint has sales of £12.5m, but Moss said that he and the other directors planned to grow this to £25m over the next two years through organic growth and by targeting new sectors.
As part of the strategy, Callprint has created a new wholly owned, standalone business, Jupiter Visual Communications, named after one of Moss’s former businesses.
Jupiter will focus on the management of special, large-scale projects in the live events, retail, sports, transport hub and the property sectors. According to Moss the synergies with Callprint’s established client base in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector will also be massive boon for the business.
“If you look at the kinds of products these clients will need that are currently outside of Callprint’s offering, like marketing suites, building wraps, hoardings, exhibition stands – then even if we just focused on cross-selling Jupiter to Callprint’s established clients then that would keep it very busy – but that’s just one piece of the pie,” said Moss.
While Jupiter will have its own staff, initially it will utilise Callprint’s production facilities as well as those of selected partners. The company is currently recruiting a team to Jupiter division, which will be based in London, Birmingham and Liverpool and will also utilise Callprint’s operation in Dubai and is in the process of forming a “strategic alliance” in New York.
“Clients aren’t so much interested in what kit you have, it’s more about being able to deliver the project for a fair price, on schedule and at an exceptional quality. We’ll deliver that through Callprint, but also strategic partnerships.”
“But the growth will not just be about Jupiter though, it will also be about developing the Callprint offering and providing added-value services to Callprint’s clients and growing the business as a group.”
For the past year Moss has been working as an industry consultant. Prior to that he was a commercial director at McKenzie Clark, which was was acquired by Icon parent Chime Communications in March 2012. Moss joined McKenzie Clark in April 2010 from St Ives-owned Service Graphics, where has was sales director.
“We have grown a solid and robust business with a fantastic workforce, and with the market improving we feel this is the right time to expand the group further. Ben has a great track record of assisting print companies with growth and is extremely well respected in the sector. We look forward to welcoming him into the company,” said Callprint chairman and founder Alan Cheek.
Last month Callprint Group acquired London-based digital print and repro rival Premier Reprographics to boost its presence in the capital and broaden its international reach.
