29 January / February 2023 more capacity has been added as a result. But another part comes from looking at how to do things more efficiently and continuing to improve the productivity that Solopress has seen the big step change in. “It was clear to us that we needed to grow our capacity to serve a growing demand, and then the question was just ‘what is the right place to invest?’. We’d considered putting in more high-speed inkjet technology, but in the end it was really clear that we could shift some work that we were producing in B2 litho offset onto B1 litho and just be more efficient, but also give ourselves some headroom and some capacity to grow. “Then there are other elements to that investment – we’ve also taken on a new site, we’ve added new folding machines, we’ve put in new fold and makeups for presentation-type folders, them very frequently, or we can offer discounts across the range. It’s just a way of us providing a two-tiered approach for different kinds of customer segments that have different needs. So Solopro has gone really well for us and we’ve seen that part of the business growing most significantly in the last couple of years.” Increasing efficiency and capacity In order to keep up with growing demand and the ever-expanding business, Solopress has put a real focus on boosting its productivity by streamlining its setup and investing in new kit and technology. This is something Cooper has overseen and one of the first things he says needed to change when he joined was to upgrade the company’s production platform. “When I joined we had all B2 litho presses and iGen digital presses and really those weren’t the most productive ways of producing the work that we had, or the demand that we’d managed to generate. So over that time we’ve invested heavily in technology, we’ve brought in inkjet presses, and replaced a lot of the old litho.” Most recently, the company has upgraded its litho offering with a £2.5m B1 ten-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 106 with coater and upgraded its inkjet capabilities on the wide-format side of things. The company also brought in B2 Indigos including the B2 Indigo 100K at the start of 2022. “The biggest step change for us is in terms of productivity,” Cooper says, adding: “When we measure the output in terms of revenue per hour worked in the business now compared to 2019 when I joined, we’ve improved by 50%. “So that’s probably the most significant thing. We’ve become much more effiThe HP Indigo 100K digital press was installed in March 2022 cient in the work that we produce, and in the end that means we can be more competitive for our customers and pass on better pricing to them.” The recent addition of B1 litho production and the expansion into Site 4 saw Solopress invest almost £5m. When you look back over the past few years and the disruption caused by the Covid19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the cost of living crisis and energy price hikes, it would be fair to ask, ‘how has the company pulled this off?’. In response to this question, Cooper explains that because Solopress has been doing well and volumes have increased, £32m turnover in 2022 Solopress operates from multiple neighbouring sites in Southend-on-Sea
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