Christine Nikiel: Green initiative helps printer Soar

Fred Soar says his printing company has saved $100,000 by recycling. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

When Soar Printing put a deal to Hubbards to print its customer newsletters, the cereal maker dumped its long-standing printer and snapped up the new offer.

It wasn't that Soar offered the best price, but because the printer included certain "green" factors in its offering which fit neatly with Hubbards' brand and values.

Most print companies have similar price points so there was no financial reason to change the old printer, says Hubbards chief executive Doug Paulin.

What impressed Paulin was Soar's ability to use paper from Forest Stewardship Council-approved forests, meaning Hubbards could claim it was one of the first companies in New Zealand to do so.

Better still, Soar saved the cereal maker about 5 per cent, Paulin says, and the printer has since picked up other work from Hubbards.

The Auckland printer embarked on a sustainability programme five years ago and was recently awarded diamond certification (the highest level) for its Eden Tce printing plant from Landcare Research's Enviro-Mark programme, making it the only printing company in the country to have that certification.

The programme aims to help New Zealand business reduce their environmental impact and get certified for their efforts.

The move has paid off, says general manager Fred Soar. The company has won other business from its green initiatives, most recently a $250,000 job printing billing paper.

"You need to be green for a lot of tenders these days, it's a given."

However, going green hasn't been cheap. The company forked out $8 million to $9 million to upgrade the Eden Tce plant. Consulting and accreditation fees cost about $20,000, estimates Soar, and running costs can hit up to 5 per cent for some jobs, although they generally hover around 2 per cent. But Soar says the programme paid for itself within a year.

One study showed the company saved $100,000 by recycling; meanwhile its multi-million-dollar investment in a new Heidelberg Anicolor A3 offset press will use 65 per cent less ink and save about 30 tonnes of paper a year.

The company also competes with its digital technology, allowing print runs as low as 250 to be produced on an offset printer with minimal "make-ready" waste (about 10 to 20 sheets as opposed to 400).

It took four years to achieve diamond status, which involves a third-party audit and four previous levels: bronze, silver, gold and platinum.

The company had to analyse everything from what chemicals it used to how it disposed of waste and measured savings.

Staff were not entirely enthusiastic, Soar admits, pointing out that the old ways were easier, faster and cheaper. It was a culture change, he says, one that management "sprang" on staff. There was "resistance the whole way through" from some suppliers as well.

However, marketing manager Craig Brown persuaded staff to go along with the idea, and Soar reckons it's nigh-impossible now to find even a mis-sorted recyclable item in the rubbish bins.

Times have changed since Soar's grandfather, also called Fred, set up shop in Onehunga in 1920, printing ferry timetables. While offset printing - printing by indirect image transfer, mainly by using a metal or paper plate - accounts for the bulk of Soar's technology, the digital age is creating a sense of urgency as printers rush to ride the digital wave.

The company made its first digital investment in two Hewlett-Packard Indigo digital presses in 2004 and increased its market by 20 per cent "overnight", says Soar.

Rationalisation of the local industry over the past decade or so means the smaller companies have to keep up with big players such as Blue Star and Geon, which have snapped up a number of independent printers, and with the developing Asian countries.

Soar says his smaller company's flexibility and nimbleness has helped it attract customers such as ASB, Westpac, Nestle, Estee Lauder and Bic.

There has also been a change in the approach to management, says Soar. While he grew up in the business, learning to drive a van and package parcels, today's managers are less likely to have any print industry experience and come from pure business backgrounds.

However, Soar is still a family company; Soar's sister Jenny Carter is financial director and another sister, Vicky Soar, is involved in sales and administration.

The company's expansion strategy has been to buy smaller independent printers, and it has picked up seven since the 1990s when Soar came on board.

Its purchase of Terra Firma allowed it to expand into plastic labels for plant retailers, a niche market in which it now has a significant share. That business makes up about 4 per cent of the company's $20 million or so turnover.

However, there are no more plans to expand that way. While buying independents trebled the company's growth, having so many different operations was complex and muddled the brand, says Soar.

He now has his sights set on joint ventures, such as the Rocket Print digital copy franchise the company has set up in Newmarket. Rocket Print specialises in short print runs. Soar sees real growth in the smaller jobs because a lot of printed material, especially marketing material, changes so quickly.

The company has also set up Digital Space in the old Holland Printing site in Auckland for printing billboards and large format jobs.

The recession has poured cold water on plans to open more Rocket Print outlets this year. Volumes are down by double-digit percentages, says Soar, and the company is running only two of its three plants.