3 minute read
OVER TO YOU...
MIKE BEESE, FOUNDER, DECTEK WWW.DECTEK.CO.UK
20-year-old DecTek, based in Pontypridd, South Wales, has more than doubled its turnover since the start of the Covid pandemic. I asked founder Mike Beese how he’s done it, and what we can expect next?
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Taking turnover from around £2m in pre-Covid days to an anticipated £4.5m this year is impressive. I know you’ve invested and diversified, and that large-format is now the fastest growing part of your business. Can you just give us a potted version of how that’s come to be?
Well we had to diversify, and with wide-format there are so many products and opportunities to choose from. We cast our net very wide and looked at where we could engage without too much of a spend. We found three or four markets that are quite expansive and quite exciting
Your most recent investment in large-format includes a HP 2700W Latex printer, which you bought through Papergraphics. I understand that came about due to a job requirement that you were already discussing with them from a media perspective. Can you talk us through that because it’s a very interesting story about the impacts of partnership working.
Yes, a job enquiry came in last September for quite a voluminous job - the type of job everybody wants but you never seem to catch! We knew we could do it but it would take all our capacity - plus we had to look into the materials spec because there were very high performance criteria. The print had to survive the outside elements and we needed something with a very good grab adhesive but that could be easily removed. It meant we had to go back to supply, namely Papergraphics, and look into options. They sourced a new product, which was great, but it was their support that took a real load of headaches away from me. We sampled the product [Monster Tack from Aslan plus a protective laminate], got the first order - which required us to work triple shifts including weekends - and all went well. But I realised we couldn’t keep doing that and needed extra capacity. However, buying a piece of equipment to service one client is quite a dangerous move, so we started looking for a 3.2m-wide machine that could support us in other markets. The HP 2700W Latex printer seemed a good choice.
The HP 2700W Latex printer is proving quite pivotal in your expansion. Can you tell us a bit more about how it’s helping you diversify your product offering and client base?
When I saw it I was totally captivated. It is not only the width we wanted but it’s dual roll as well and gives us a white ink option. Our client-base builds weekly and we’re always looking for new opportunities. For instance, this machine can handle 3.2m wide banner using eco-safe inks which is important, and we already had the cutting equipment to handle that type of work so we’re now doing that - and offering it as a support to other printers in the area too. It’s also helping us expand our packaging offering among other things.
During Covid you set up a sister company to DecTek called Big Bang. I understand that although that’s small-format focussed, you also have large-format production kit based there. Can you tell us more about that?
The problem was that we couldn’t expand much at DecTek due to space limits. So we found a very large warehouse type structure that we converted. We put in small-format kit, but when we started being asked to produce very large boxes we needed somewhere to handle those so large-format kit started to creep in - the new Latex machine plus another, flatbed printers, laminators etc. Then we started using the site to produce large scale theatre and wedding backdrops, floor graphics for exhibitions - areas of trade that are fast growing for us. Décor products too are an opportunity for us.
The size of the building also means we are able to hold a large volume of media and stock there so large-format is taking over at the site.
You have big expectations Mike. Can I push you to say where you think the company will be by 2025? This is a whole new era for us and there’s a lot in the pipeline that we can’t yet talk about, but we have jobs in the offing of over £1m each. We are hoping to finalise one contract worth over £21m over three years and I’m hoping to bag that in April. Our current forecasts have us turning over about £12m by 2025.
