Responsiveness to market conditions and new technology are what make Champ Direct Printing & Mailing an effective and profitable printing company. During the 48 years the firm has been in business in Connecticut, it has responded and adapted to the changing business climate in the Tri-State area.
Recently, two things have dramatically changed the way the company conducts its business. Champ's move 18 minutes east on I-95 from Bridgeport to Milford, in October 2006, was perfectly timed to help grow the company physically. The Milford facility offers 150,000 sq. ft of space for offices and a prepress department, a huge pressroom/bindery with plenty of room for new equipment, a warehouse section for storage or rental, a cafeteria, and a gym for employees.
Next, Champ's purchase of a new 10-color coated web press and the addition of a mailing department ramped up the capabilities, and allowed it to offer a one-stop-shop concept to clients.
"We expect to be up 20 percent for 2007," notes Paul Featherston, president and owner, "even with the lost portion of the last quarter of 2006 and a portion of the first quarter for the move."
Mr. Featherston believes the move to Milford was worth the money (about $2 million) and the time. "We were looking to move for two years. Bridgeport didn't offer us any firm incentive to stay, so we left," he explains. "We redid this facility from the ground up—running environmental tests on the soil, redoing the landscaping, refinishing the floors in the pressroom, installing trigger lighting, and improving the HVAC system."
He attributes the company's double-digit growth to its new 10-color Heidelberg Harris press. With it, the company can efficiently produce letters, brochures, self-mailers, blow-in cards, business reply cards, coupons, and promotional items for a variety of companies, including financial and non-profit organizations.
"We can produce about 60-80 million coupons a month," explains Mike Klausman, vice president of sales. "We had a built-in client base for the heatset web work, as most of our existing base was already using coated printers to do work. The savings in freight, and in many cases the printing itself, can be substantial.
"The heatset web has given us a broader base, as we can now attempt to sell to many companies that print enormous quantities of coated work for package inserts, bank and credit card statement inserts, and free-standing inserts for newspapers and direct mail packages," he continued.
Three outstanding pieces Champ produced recently show the high-quality work the company is known for, and the diversity of the firms it calls clients.
Champ printed 500,000 promotional brochures for U.S. Presidential coins. It was a 5.5x8.5" piece on 60-pound coated text. It printed 9-up on a 26x17.75" sheet. A travel piece (Champ printed 4.5 million) was 3.5x7" on 70-pound coated text, and ran 15-up on a 23x17.75" sheet. And the Unilock pavers promotional piece was 5.75x8.5" printed on 10-pt. C1S stock, and ran 8-up on a 23.5x17.75" sheet.
The recent addition of a mailing department has meant Champ keeps work in-house. The company invested in a Kirk-Rudy Net Jet System (inkjet addressing), an Axode Barcode Scanner (similar to USPS Merlin Testing), and a Mailcrafters six-station inserter, Model 9800 (6x9").
According to Vice President, Mailing Services Bob Schlump, "In addition to convenience, our clients save time and money by avoiding shipments to another mailer. We can and do coordinate our printing and mailing schedules to meet or exceed our clients' needs.
"Another benefit comes from our proof checking for compliance with postal regulations before a job is printed. Because our mailing services are part of Champ, we can share expenses and pass the savings on to our valued customers," he added.
Source: printingnews
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