"The status quo is not acceptable," says Imprint Group chief executive Jim Newton, neatly summing up his Tyneside company's approach on how to build a successful business.

In 2001, Imprint Group became the third company in the world to invest in an Inca flatbed UV-cured inkjet press. While rivals were sticking to tried-and-trusted screen printing methods, Imprint took an educated gamble on digital printing - and it has paid off.

"By 2006, after a period of rapid growth, we had almost doubled our turnover to £3m. We had four digital flatbeds, but we had reached a plateau," adds group business development director Dave Bullivant. "It wasn't cost-effective to produce the run lengths we were being asked for on our flatbeds, so we looked for an acquisition."

In the following year, the point-of-sale specialist acquired Gateshead-based PSP to add four-colour screenprint to its services and, in the process, took sales to the £5.5m mark.

Two years on and the status quo is being challenged yet again. This time, it is again betting on digital with the purchase of another pair of Incas - two Onset S20s - which it believes will better meet marketers' needs. "We're finding that as our customers are squeezed, there is more strategic marketing and they are more reactive, which plays to the strengths of digital," says Newton. "Print is a necessary evil for retailers; it has to pay its way. We can make their investment more effective through trials and phased roll-outs."

Group production director (and Jim's brother) Paul Newton adds: "Last week, we did a 10-store roll-out using digital. It was successful and so it moved on to a 200-store campaign produced using screenprint this week. We're encouraging clients to try things like that."

Recipe for success
Understanding the market and anticipating its needs is just one part of Imprint's recipe for success. Other ingredients include strong management focus and discipline, which come from Jim Newton and group director Mike Younger's management experience gained in much larger companies in the waste management sector.

"We've always run the business as if it was much larger - that has really underpinned our operations," says Newton, who emphasises the importance of monitoring performance daily, weekly, monthly, and by cost centre. Such rigour isn't confined to Imprint's financials - it extends to all its processes and procedures, which are clearly laid out and followed with charts, graphs and notice boards highlighting best practice throughout the factories.

"We've always done things right, we've just not broadcast it," says Newton, explaining how the 63-staff company has recently been awarded ISO 9001 and 14001 - a process that took just six months, due in part to already having good quality assurance and environmental procedures in place.

The team at Imprint take environmental credentials very seriously. Current initiatives include working with Newcastle University to establish the carbon footprint of the business, which it claims is paying off as retail customers focus on the environmental impact of their supply chains.

Training also plays an important role in the business plan; every employee has a training folder to chart their progress and breadth of skills. "We don't pigeonhole people - they are all encouraged to have a go at what they want to," adds Paul Newton.

Despite the growth in business, success hasn't always been easy, explains Young. "It's hard to change the culture but we've had to move from a top-down to a bottom-up approach," he says, revealing how shop floor staff were involved in planning the layout of a new £4.5m, 2,500sqm factory this year.

This ‘working together' approach has been extended to clients and, despite the focus on its manufacturing processes, the group has positioned itself as a service provider. Examples include design services, store audits and client training. "We do all the design and creative for our second largest client," says Bullivant. "We launched Imprint Select several years ago because we identified that there was very little knowledge about any form of print in their marketing departments."

Imprint Group is not a company that likes to stand still and, according to Jim Newton, the group will continue to challenge the status quo and build on its latest £6m turnover. "It's about going up the food chain and building a culture so you're seen as an extension of their business," he added.

IMPRINT GROUP FACTFILE
Based Newcastle upon Tyne
Sector point-of-sale
Clients horticulture and retail
Staff 63
Founded 1981
Chief executive Jim Newton
Group director Mike Younger
Group business development director Dave Bullivant
Group production director Paul Newton