The company from Sibiu became in a short time a major player in Bucharest’s printing market. The secret of their ascension is the fact that they focused on equipment performance, quality and reliability – said Alexandru Anca, CEO Print Center. He said that he had clients from Bucharest who called him there, when he was completing work in Sibiu. Interesting is that the company did not have a sales department in Bucharest and the significant recorded growth was obtained only by recommendations.
Dan CĂLIN
Print Center business was financed started by Alexandru Anca in Sibiu in 2006, based on brokering print for customers to whom he made graphics side. But soon, the workflow has increased so much that he decided to invest in production. So, in 2014 he opened a branch in Bucharest and at the beginning of next year he built a hall and started working. This movement was so good, that in the first year of the company’s presence in Bucharest, turnover has doubled, and in 2016 is expected to increase by 100%. Today, the company has 30 employees working in two units (Sibiu and Bucharest). In Bucharest it produces in two halls who totalize an area of 1,200 square meters.
Earlier this year, Print Center started an investment plan for 2016, worth about 500,000 euros, in printing and finishing equipment. It should be noted that this investment is made with their own money, without bank loans or other grants. The project is intended for export, because some contracts were signed with external customers. Thus, the company came to have the ability to print anything related to advertising production. „We found Geko and Mimaki as trustful partners, who support us very much and respond quickly when we need help. In addition, the equipment has a very good quality/price report. Geko is our main technology provider, and Mimaki opened here the largest showroom in Europe, after the one in Netherlands. We have almost all their range”, said Alexandru Anca.
The most of company’s customers are end customers. Many of them are multinationals, and the rest are advertisers. „We knew very well how to choose our customers. The only problem that we have is outstanding receipts with advertising agencies and resellers, but at this moment they represent very little of our turnover. Instead, all multinationals do their payments within 60 days; most of them even earlier. This is very important for us, because this way we can expand. Another problem is that many agencies practice very low prices, and we do not want to work at such values, because we really care about the quality that we offer and our delivery time”, said the owner of Print Center.
He is one of the few owners of a printing company that I have met, who is focusing on available workforce. “Equipment, prices and costs matters less than the people you work with. Everything starts from the employees and the good ones are hard to find. In our industry we have problems with the training of people who are working in production and usually this is done at workplace. For example, many come to us for hiring, but when I see in how many companies they have worked for a short period of time, I’d rather not hire them, just to stay in our company one year or less. With those that I did hire, I got lucky, but I also imposed a work style so that everyone does their job and respect each other”, said Alexandru Anca.
I asked Mr. Anca about Romanian elections from this year and of course about the work that could have brought and he said that: “We were contacted for electoral printing, but we did not wish to work in outdoor anymore. Most orders that we have are related to communication on the shelves, and now we can print on any material. PVC is commonly used, but the demand for wood is very highly present. For this reason, in the next period we plan to invest in woodworking technology. We want to produce even furniture. Also, we want an approach of hospitality industry, as well as of home&deco domain. In these segments nobody asks you how much is one square meter, and the commercial additions are the best. It matters a lot how the finished product looks at the end. In Romania, the market is small and effervescent, but in Western countries is already a culture regarding this”.
Our discussion constantly returned on exports and foreign customers. Therefore, I wanted to find out if Print Center intends to become an exhibitor at specialized fairs abroad and if it has plans for exports expansion. „We already have three years of exports to Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic and Macedonia. Most of them are home&deco products, but we have made brochures and catalogues, too. This year we will open another workstation, this time in Brasov. In 2017 we will have a production center in Germany. At that time, we will participate in two international fairs abroad who will focus on interior decorations”, said Alexandru Anca.
Print Center has (in numbers):
– 2 production centers (in Sibiu and Bucharest);
– 2 manufacturing centers in preparation (in Brasovand Germany);
– 30 employees;
– 3 years of exports ofhome&deco andprinting products;
– 1,200 square meters of production space;
– investment plan for 2016, worth about 500,000 euros, in printing and finishing equipment.
