KEY POINTS:
It's the company people touch every day but hardly notice.
Premier Business Print turns gigantic rolls of white paper into the Wilson Parking tickets you slip into your wallet, the bright wrist bands you wear at theme parks and your Eftpos receipts.
The company's East Tamaki factory also produces everything from business invoice forms and packing slips to barcodes, boarding passes and restaurant order pads.
It prints all of Wilson Parking's tickets in New Zealand and Australia a contract that involves 100 sites in New Zealand catering to more than 40,000 cars a day, and 200 across Australia parking more than 240,000 cars per day.
The company was established in 1983 as Premier Business Forms. As it extended its product range, it was renamed Premier Business Print in 1998.
Managing director Andrew Perrier joined the team as sales and marketing manager in 2005 and was appointed general manager in April.
He had previously held senior roles at Canon, Philips and Datamail, and worked in the software business in Asia and the Pacific. Premier Business Print offered Perrier a chance to combine his skills and try his hand at manufacturing.
Under Perrier, Premier has experienced 25 per cent growth.
This year it is looking to expand its exports beyond Australia and has already confirmed orders with Chile and the United Arab Emirates.
In late 2001, Premier acquired tag, ticket and label manufacturer Globe Print, and through Globe's existing channels was able to reach a greater part of the Australasian market.
The Wilson contract, signed in 2006, proved a successful case study for tendering and the company has since secured more million-dollar Australian deals, despite strong competition from local suppliers.
Now 20 per cent of the business is generated from Australian contracts.
Premier's track record for delivering a high-quality product on time is the secret to its success, says Perrier.
"We have not won any of this business purely on price," he says.
The company's products are critical to the day-to-day operation of clients and their customers - which means Premier has to get it right every time.
Perrier says that in the manufacturing business, quality staff who are loyal are the most important factor in retaining clients and growing further.
He says he is lucky to employ a solid team of 30 who are experts in the field.
"They see it as a craft - not just a job."
Those unfamiliar with the company often assume it is Asia-based, but all products are manufactured in East Tamaki from quality paper which is mostly imported from Europe, he says.
There is a "buyer beware" attitude to imported products now, and a greater awareness that cheap paper can have hidden costs, Perrier says.
"It is possible to buy cheap thermal paper grades from Asia, but often these are very abrasive and can cause severe wear and tear of the printers' heads.
"So a company may save 20c per roll on the paper, but the trade-off is that the printer will use three or four times more print heads per year in the process.
"Print heads cost around $1500 each, so using cheap thermal paper can significantly increase the total annual printing cost."
Yes, overheads would be much lower if Premier moved to Asia, but Perrier says it's more beneficial to keep manufacturing in New Zealand, close to the company's core markets.
By remaining a small and accessible business, the company allows clients the flexibility to change aspects of their order at the last minute and at little cost, Perrier says.
"They want supply on a just-in-time basis. Turnaround time, consistent quality standards, accuracy and volumes are critical to companies' business success we have found local companies find it difficult to deal with Asian suppliers and have therefore experienced very little competition from them."
But while Perrier has no intention of moving production offshore any time soon, he says heavy compliance costs do make it tempting.
"This year there's an extra week's annual leave and there's the KiwiSaver scheme as well. We have 30 staff but the same level of compliance as big businesses and it eats into our bottom line."
Like other manufacturers, Premier has also experienced pressure on margins from rising oil prices.
But Perrier maintains that manufacturing companies with a strong competitive advantage can still thrive in the current environment.
"Over the years we have adapted to market change and this environment is no different. We continue to look at new markets, products and innovation as well as new technologies in order to future-proof our business."
Demand from the public transport sector is up this year and Premier has also helped some clients improve products - such as adding holograms to parking tickets in Australia to combat forgery.
Perrier says the company holds an upper hand in the tight market as it is an accredited Skidata manufacturer. Based in Austria, Skidata AG is one of the world leaders in parking ticket technology.
Having a third party monitoring the business is a strong selling point when bidding for clients, Perrier says.
Wilson Parking operates Skidata car park technology, so the accreditation was vital to Premier winning that contract.
"Wilson Parking cannot afford to run inferior ticketing products and run the risk of voiding the warranty on their equipment or inconveniencing their customers," Perrier says.
Just as Premier can't run the risk of inconveniencing its clients and harming the reputation of its business.
Premier Business Print
* 25 years old
* Based in East Tamaki
* Employs 30 staff
* Prints tickets for Wilson Parking in New Zealand and Australia
* Also prints airline boarding passes, "admit one" tickets, invoice forms, transport tickets and theme park wrist bands
* Prefers to keep manufacturing in New Zealand, close to core markets
