“a real problem solver who totally reflects the calm nature needed to get things turned around right first time”. One example of this is a car park multistorey that Citiprint had to fully wrap in two hours during Covid-19, something KentLedger describes as “the most insane job we’ve ever done timewise” but one that they pulled off with ease as a team. Most recently, Citiprint has taken on a full-time new production colleague and delivery driver due to ever-increasing demand. Having been situated on the border with Essex for the past five years, 2023 has seen Citiprint move into new modern premises in Hendon, North London comprising of 2,000sq ft. “The space is quite quickly filling up, but it’s still a huge upgrade for us and a clean and quiet relaxing estate. I can see Wembley Stadium from my new office!” A Stab in the Dark With the move to new premises signalling the company’s growth, Kent-Ledger reflects back on other ways the company has evolved since its inception. “It really was a stab in the dark promising sameday turnaround from day one, and finding suppliers who could help get that off the ground, then dealing with the logistics side. Van leasing, insurance, travel, time, it does soon all add up but it’s now like walking a slightly unruly dog. “There are days it will pull you on the lead, but others it will walk by your side and cuddle up. It’s a beautifully rewarding business even with the stress, tears, and mistakes which inevitably happen.” A significant setback happened in 2019 when Kent-Ledger lost all the company’s kit and effectively the business due to getting with the wrong business partner. This led to a huge challenge in rebuilding everything solo with Kent-Ledger having to go back to being a business run from a laptop with no assets at all. Despite this, he notes that whilst Covid19 provided a real overnight drop in work with the company switching to utilising its NHS Supplier contacts and delivering over £500,000 of PPE, ultimately the biggest challenge for Citiprint has been finding what’s next. “I’ve never seen us as having competitors because firstly, there aren’t any on our wavelength, and secondly, because my dad once said to only focus on what you’re doing, instead of others. That stuck and it means I may be so buried in Citiprint that I don’t always see what’s going on around us but it ultimately means it has my full attention all of the time. “Our previous unit was a mammoth leap both in size and expenditure-wise but within a year it had a flatbed and huge workbench in and became cramped. I think you’ve just got to at least try to overcome any challenge and find a way at any cost.” In turn, the related challenge for this was finding somewhere that ticked the location, rent, and suitability criteria with rent having more than doubled since Citiprint’s last move. “I really feel for anyone looking to get into this industry now in search of premises, it will be tough,” Kent-Ledger adds. Support from the Industry With that said, Kent-Ledger also notes the importance of the industry as a whole continuing to help each other. He says it became apparent from the get-go that there is a huge disparity between those sole traders at home, in sheds, or in small lockups, to the industry giants with hundreds of staff, multimillion-pound contracts, and machines. “For us in the middle, I think there needs to be a lot more support and handing down of advice but looking up for advice too. We can all benefit in this reciprocal industry where suppliers become customers and vice-versa. It’s an industry that has afforded me some great lifelong friends no matter what their stance is, be it growing, or simply doing it as a hobby. “But for us SMEs, we need that investment, time, and knowledge from suppliers, manufacturers, and ultimately publications (thank you for the opportunity), to move forward. I do sometimes feel like it took a lot of years for people to take me seriously, just due to age.” Kent-Ledger adds: “I know there are a lot of people out there looking to get into Founded – 2016 Size of site – 2,000sq ft 50m – height of wind turbine installation Statistics ▲ Jacob Kent-Kedger founded Citiprint in 2016 28 Issue 248 - August / September 2023 www.signlink.co.uk COMPANY SPOTLIGHT / CITIPRINT ▼ Citiprint recently upgraded its company fleet
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