Consumables

In today's highly competitive print marketplace, specialist outfits, such as Abbot, are finding trading conditions increasingly tough. However, Alasdair Browne, director at the trade-only business stationery printer, believes that, in contrast to popular opinion, diversification is not necessarily the answer and that keeping faith in specialising can help Abbot ride out the difficult climate.

Abbot began life in 1920 as the Abbot Duplicate Book Company. It originally manufactured books for John Dickinson, which was situated alongside Abbot on the Grand Union Canal in Hemel Hempstead.

Following a management buyout led by Browne in July 2006, the company rebranded under its present name and moved to a smaller site in Hemel Hempstead, which also boasted the Paper Trail, a historic paper mill that produces 100% recycled paper, as one of its residents.

Smaller but fitter
The move to a smaller premises was taken as an opportunity to restructure for the good times and bad. As part of this move, Browne, who boasts both an MA and an MBA, was brought in as director, despite having no previous experience of the industry.

What he did have was a lot of experience in high-pressure situations that required a keen eye for organisation and discipline, having previously served as an officer in the army. In this role, he spent eight years stationed in places as diverse as Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and the Congo. He has also worked for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Kosovo and with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Indonesia.

The change to print would have presented some with a steep learning curve, but Browne, used to having to make a quick assessment of any situation, got a grasp on all the major projects promptly. One key move was that the company switched from film to CTP and upgraded the MIS from Jenem to Shuttleworth and Sage.

We have become better at monitoring all of our stock and procedures and at continually taking any fat out of the system, Browne reveals. This is part of what continuous improvement is all about, but a result of this is that we have become a smaller company.

Faced with the intensifying economic slowdown, this is perhaps no bad thing. In general, Browne is wary of going down the diversification route, particularly into the digital field, which so many companies have decided to do in response to the economic climate. He says it is clear that money is being spent creating a market for digital. However, he argues that, in a declining market or economic downturn, a focus on specialist traditional printing can be as effective as diversifying into digital.

Digital is not the only solution, he says. Traditional methods are not outdated or tired.

Instead, Abbot has concentrated on making sure it maintains as lean an inventory as possible. It has kept paying its suppliers to terms, kept employee productivity high and grown capacity organically through internal investment.

However, it also wants to invest in new equipment when the time is right. We know what equipment we want to buy. There is a downturn on the horizon and that means the balance of paying suppliers on time and investing in new equipment needs to be carefully monitored. There is every point in buying in a downturn, provided you continue to get this balance absolutely right.

He says that new kit would not increase the range of products the company produces. Rather, it would make these products better and more efficient.

Quicker delivery
But more important than new kit to Browne, is better turnaround times. Customers want their products quicker than ever and we need to heed this. We have to keep listening and responding to what our customers want. We aim to exceed their expectations.

He would also like to shift the focus to environmental sustainability, an increasingly important issue both to the company and its customers. The first step has already been achieved, as the company was recently awarded FSC and PEFC certification.

Browne has taken a bold decision to keep Abbot as a specialist print business and not to diversify. However, he says the company’s reputation is strong enough for it to be a successful strategy. And, considering his former employment, his judgement in an often hostile and unforgiving environment is probably worth listening to.

ABBOT PRINT FACTFILE
Director Alasdair Browne
Staff 23
Location Apsley, Hemel Hempstead
Turnover £1.9m
Products Continuous stationery, cut sets and register sets, multi-part books, pads and sets, café pads and receipt books
Established 1920
Kit Four Drent Gazelle, Timson multi-web, Heidelberg QM-46, two Rotatek pack collators, Jumbo Bielo reel-to-sheet collator, Horizon perfect binder, stitching, padding, spine cloth stripper, automated flat sheet numberer and Wire-O binding equipment