Reed makes great impression

Mar 13 2007 By Alastair Gilmour, The Journal

A huge fire could have spelt the end for one North-East company, but it provided the opportunity to rethink the whole business - and another firm isn't content to stay local but is heading for the stars, writes Alastair Gilmour.

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The opening of a £15m, 120,000sq ft print and production facility in Washington marked the start of a new chapter in the history of one of the region's longest-established print businesses.

Reed Print & Design was set up as a family business in 1968 and evolved into a specialist in innovative print, direct mail and clean primary and secondary packing solutions.

Three years ago, it was destroyed by fire. That would have been the finish for some, but an £8m investment in plant and systems has resulted in a production environment which incorporates manufacturing practices based on Six Sigma - a measure of quality that strives for near-perfection - and Kaizen (continuous improvement), which are more common to traditionally more progressive industries, such as the micro-electronics and automotive sectors. The company, which generated turnover of £11m before the blaze, has moved from a five-days-a-week, 16-hours-a-day production schedule to a six-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day system.

The new factory is up to speed and will produce more than 170 million pieces of work a year for blue-chip clients in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), banking, utilities, telecoms and pharmaceutical sectors. Reed Print numbers four out of 10 of Europe's largest pharmaceutical companies among its clients, and three new ISO 8 standard clean rooms have been incorporated into the layout, in line with the firm's accreditation to the industry's rigorous packing and production standards.

Twenty new jobs have already been created since the new factory went into production last year, boosting staff numbers close to 200, with a further 10% earmarked over the next 12 months.

Reed's managing director Giles Sergant said: "We've reached a milestone for the business, and now have all the necessary elements in place to support our forward plans.

"The fire marked a major turning point and from a positive viewpoint it actually gave us an opportunity to take a fresh look at the business and make changes that were not previously feasible.

"We've invested more than £15m to create a production operation equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and facilities that provide the capacity to more than double our current activity levels. We also have a modern, forward-looking culture, developed by employee consultation, with a determined, meaningful focus on quality and continuous improvement.

"As a result we're confident that we will achieve our aims of significantly increasing turnover which is likely to create more new jobs in the region."

The new range of high specification print and finishing equipment includes a top-of-the-range Heidelberg SM102 12-colour press.

On a recent visit, Heidelberg UK's managing director, George Clarke, praised the new plant, saying: "I have never been inside a press room as intelligently designed, smart, clean and beautiful as this one.

"The level of attention to detail is staggering and everyone associated with Reed Print must feel proud to be associated with this incredible site - it can hold its own against the best in the world."

The company has also been held up as a model of good practice for its work with the Engineering Employers' Federation (EEF) Northern on creating a healthy company culture.

Alan Hall, director of EEF Northern, said: "The ultra-clean conditions in the main printing area are more associated with a modern hospital than a printing operation.

"The transformation of the company culture parallels its modern new facility. It has achieved single status conditions of service, established a company intranet, a new employee communications and consultation forum, brought about new working patterns and is implementing a cutting-edge job evaluation and performance assessment system.

"For Reed to have made such fundamental and significant cultural progress alongside the building of a brand-new factory is no mean achievement."