PRINTING company J Thomson Colour Printers has acquired the business of Garthland Design and Print with the latter’s owners set to wind-up the business.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, comes on the back of a £5m investment at J Thomson Colour Printers’ (JTCP) Glasgow print works.
Kevin Creechan, managing director of JTCP, said Garthland was a perfect complement to the business.
“Garthland have a fantastic reputation, very good customer relationships,” he said. “We’ve not changed a great deal, just added to what they had with a stronger background.”
Last year JTCP turned over about £12.5 million with a profit north of £1m, and Mr Creechan said the acquisition gave the firm the opportunity to add grow that figure by more than the £700,000 Garthland posted last year.
“We work with a lot of blue-chip companies and government bodies where they operated more at the coal-face with day-to-day business,” said Mr Creechan. “Some of their customers couldn’t place a load of business with them because they weren’t big enough to cope with it, so we can organically grow that business as there’s now much more to offer.”
The biggest strength was building a customer base for 25 years. “That was important to us. If you’re going to merge a business it has to complement what you do,” said Mr Creechan.
Among its many jobs, Garthland printed The Herald calendar, which features images taken by readers for Picture of the Day, with proceeds going to a nominated charity.
Five staff working in sales and data management have moved over to JTCP, taking staff numbers to 130 staff across its Glasgow manufacturing plant and offices in Edinburgh, Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness.
The first of two new printing presses that encompass LED UV technology is set to arrive on September 1, and the £5m investment will push capacity up by 15 to 30 per cent depending on what work is being carried out.
The purchase was funded from cash reserves, illustrating the confidence in the business. “It’s not the only way to do, but if you can, it’s the best way,” said Mr Crechan.
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