NEW MANAGEMENT BRINGS NEW TECHNOLOGY AND NEW CUSTOMERS
By Linda Komori >> Kamloops Business
Ryan Holowaychuk has spent most of his life around a printing press. Growing up, his parents owned Kamloops Commercial Press. These days, Holowaychuk is the owner of Noran Printing Ltd. and is celebrating his first anniversary at the helm.
Holowaychuk’s approach with Noran has been to build on the business that the previous owners had established over the years, while bringing in new technology and increasing the range of services Noran can offer. Despite undergoing some restructuring, Noran enjoyed increased sales in 2009 and Holowaychuk said he looks forward to continued growth in 2010. Noran’s customer base in Kamloops and the Okanagan has remained strong, and for the first time in Noran history, sales people have been added to the team. “When we took over, we were able to keep on all staff. We actually added two staff.”
Perhaps the biggest change Holowaychuk initiated was investing heavily in Noran’s digital printing capabilities. “Now we can do quality print jobs with a very fast turnaround,” Holowaychuk said, adding that Noran can take on a wide variety of jobs, from the ‘one-off’ to the ‘many-off.’
Holowaychuk pointed out that Noran’s digital printing services make professionally printed materials more accessible for clients on a budget. “Digital printing has jumped up drastically. We can give every client a chance – whether their need is short run or long run.”
Besides his extensive knowledge of printing, Holowaychuk has a background in information technology and has equipped Noran to take on targeted mass-mailing projects. With the use of the right data base, it’s possible to create customized one-to-one marketing materials on a large scale, he said.
He gave an example of a mass mailout of 20,000 rack cards – with each card being different, and uniquely targeted to the recipient. “Even the graphics can be tailored to appeal directly to that particular customer,” Holowaychuk explained.
Holowaychuk has also invested in die-cutting technology that allows the shop to handle jobs such as presentation folders from start to finish, rather than having to outsource the die-cutting aspect of the job. While Holowaychuk’s goal is to keep as much work as possible in-house, he said he will outsource parts of projects when necessary to best serve clients. When outsourcing, he tries to keep the work in Kamloops. “If I keep it in the community, the community will support me,” he reasoned.
In addition to a strong community focus, Noran Printing has an important focus on family these days. Following the model Holowaychuk grew up with, Holowaychuk’s wife Jenn and other family members can be found taking on a variety of jobs at Noran.
“It goes back to my roots,” he said. “We all have a number of skills, and we all pitch in. If floors need to be swept, any one of us will do it.”