Old World Craftsmanship, New World Expertise
Canadians are known for being down-to-earth and Glenmore
Printing in Vancouver is no exception. The print shop's success can
be explained by company manager Glenn Rowley's focus on service.
His motto is: "A well-advised customer has a large circle of
friends, while a poorly advised one knows half the city."
What's a typical Glenmore job?
Rowley: We combine quality with reliability and speed, usually in short runs. We are also very dedicated and put a lot of care into the details. Our main products are POS materials, so this attitude is particularly important. After all, our advertisement displays, posters, brochures or coupons are meant to entice customers and stimulate them to buy.
Other print shops can do that, too. What's special about Glenmore Printing?
Rowley: True. This alone doesn't distinguish us very much. That's why we position ourselves as active problem solvers and trustworthy "advisers." For us, it's not just about meeting customer wishes in a reliable manner. We want to understand our customers' goals and highlight the ideal solutions for them. During project planning, we recommend suitable formats, papers or production techniques, for example. We then guide our customers just as intensively during the entire production process - in prepress, during printing, as well as in postpress. Our clients can always rely on two things - the old craftsmanship of our employees and the newest technology from Heidelberg.
What's a typical Glenmore job?
Rowley: We combine quality with reliability and speed, usually in short runs. We are also very dedicated and put a lot of care into the details. Our main products are POS materials, so this attitude is particularly important. After all, our advertisement displays, posters, brochures or coupons are meant to entice customers and stimulate them to buy.
Other print shops can do that, too. What's special about Glenmore Printing?
Rowley: True. This alone doesn't distinguish us very much. That's why we position ourselves as active problem solvers and trustworthy "advisers." For us, it's not just about meeting customer wishes in a reliable manner. We want to understand our customers' goals and highlight the ideal solutions for them. During project planning, we recommend suitable formats, papers or production techniques, for example. We then guide our customers just as intensively during the entire production process - in prepress, during printing, as well as in postpress. Our clients can always rely on two things - the old craftsmanship of our employees and the newest technology from Heidelberg.
You intentionally don't do any self-promotion. Why not?
Rowley: We don't have to give ourselves a pat on the back. Our numerous regular customers know what they value in us. They're usually manufacturers like us. That fits well because we speak the same language. With our large customers, for example retail companies, we deal with marketing people or upper management but just as often with production managers. We focus on the basics - like making sure that inks dry quickly and that we meet delivery deadlines. In this way, we contribute to our customers' success and grow with them - slowly but steadily. Word gets around.
What is the decisive factor in winning customers?
Rowley: People want credibility. They want to know who they are dealing with. References, therefore, are important. We print for large, Canadian retailers or other well-known companies. Our customers' recommendations help us, too, of course. We often invite our customers to our print shop or show them that we have the latest technology during the press check. The Speedmaster CD 74 five-color with extended coating unit has impressed a lot of customers with its additional benefits.
Rowley: We don't have to give ourselves a pat on the back. Our numerous regular customers know what they value in us. They're usually manufacturers like us. That fits well because we speak the same language. With our large customers, for example retail companies, we deal with marketing people or upper management but just as often with production managers. We focus on the basics - like making sure that inks dry quickly and that we meet delivery deadlines. In this way, we contribute to our customers' success and grow with them - slowly but steadily. Word gets around.
What is the decisive factor in winning customers?
Rowley: People want credibility. They want to know who they are dealing with. References, therefore, are important. We print for large, Canadian retailers or other well-known companies. Our customers' recommendations help us, too, of course. We often invite our customers to our print shop or show them that we have the latest technology during the press check. The Speedmaster CD 74 five-color with extended coating unit has impressed a lot of customers with its additional benefits.
How did the switch to the Speedmaster CD 74 change your
business?
Rowley: We've become much faster thanks to the extended coating unit. The sheets now come out of the machine dry, allowing us to accept more orders with a very tight turnaround. With the CD 74, we can also print heavier materials for the packaging market. That has opened up new orders for us because we can now deliver a full-service. We also receive orders for presentation folders, for example, since we can produce the complete package - inner pages and folders - overnight with the CD 74. We've become a lot more flexible in terms of market demands.
How did the orientation phase with the new press go?
Rowley: Familiarizing ourselves with the Speedmaster CD 74 went very smoothly since we already have several Speedmaster 52's in operation and our printers already more or less knew the technology. After all, both presses basically share the same platform. Added to that is the fact that we've been printing 20-inch sheets (50 x 70 centimeter) for 27 years already. We were therefore able to profit from the new press' higher productivity right away.
What drives you personally?
Rowley: The print shop is like a second family to me. So I'm not just dedicated to my company with heart and soul for financial reasons. It makes me happy to see how passionately my employees go about their work while I take care of the strategic planning. It's important to me that my people and their families prosper, that they're doing well. A lot of my employees have started families and purchased homes since they started working here. That's what I'm proud of the most.
Rowley: We've become much faster thanks to the extended coating unit. The sheets now come out of the machine dry, allowing us to accept more orders with a very tight turnaround. With the CD 74, we can also print heavier materials for the packaging market. That has opened up new orders for us because we can now deliver a full-service. We also receive orders for presentation folders, for example, since we can produce the complete package - inner pages and folders - overnight with the CD 74. We've become a lot more flexible in terms of market demands.
How did the orientation phase with the new press go?
Rowley: Familiarizing ourselves with the Speedmaster CD 74 went very smoothly since we already have several Speedmaster 52's in operation and our printers already more or less knew the technology. After all, both presses basically share the same platform. Added to that is the fact that we've been printing 20-inch sheets (50 x 70 centimeter) for 27 years already. We were therefore able to profit from the new press' higher productivity right away.
What drives you personally?
Rowley: The print shop is like a second family to me. So I'm not just dedicated to my company with heart and soul for financial reasons. It makes me happy to see how passionately my employees go about their work while I take care of the strategic planning. It's important to me that my people and their families prosper, that they're doing well. A lot of my employees have started families and purchased homes since they started working here. That's what I'm proud of the most.
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Over the course of its more than 150-year history, Heidelberg has grown from a traditional printing press manufacturer to become the world's largest solutions provider for the print media industry. With its seamlessly integrated hardware and software solutions, it has established a commanding lead over other market players. Heidelberg is a one-stop supplier of everything from prepress solutions to a wide range of products for printing and finishing processes, relevant training and accompanying services. More
