With over 40 years servicing the printing community in West African states – with special focus on Nigeria, Hambleside has begun to strategise on how best to dominate the market by offering not just cost-effective printing machineries and consumables but on other key factors that make a successful print business. On their recent visit to Nigeria, WHERE To Print caught up with the duo of Stephen Harris and Ivor Hutchison both of Hambleside who gave insights to what their customers should expect from Hambleside. Excerpt:
WHAT ARE THE CORE VALUES THAT STAND HAMBLESIDE OUT FROM OTHER PRINT EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS?
Our core values that stand us is the fact they we offer everything in terms of printing from pre-press to post-press and it is known fact that without printing consumables, used or new print equipment, printing equipment spare parts, growing a print business will definitely be very difficult. That is why we take it upon ourselves at Hambleside to make all the materials needed to run a viable printing press available ranging from buying a tin of ink to the purchase of pre press equipments, press room equipment and post press equipment.
Hambleside offers more than supplying print materials and servicing of printing business equipments. We have well-trained print specialists that give salient print information; provides latest and most advanced products information currently available in the industry. We also evaluate the potential of new print products that offer best solution. We have the widest choice of used equipments available to choose from – and we are always available during difficult times to help and offer useful technical support.
A lot of growing printing companies use price as the bottom-line in selecting a supplier to stock their press with printing equipments and consumables; little did they know that there is more to it than that. Price certainly is important in selecting suppliers for print requirements but for the growth of business unfortunately, there’s more to a supplier than an invoice. There is more to the cost of doing business with a supplier than the amount on a purchase order.
At the heart of Hambleside International are first class product and service. From the start we want to be a customer’s ‘first choice’. Hambleside elevates and differentiates like-for-like products or services and gives our customers reason to choose us over our competitors. They know instantly they will get the very best products, service and support from a well-recognised supplier that’s been in the business for many years
Our track record of supplying the West African Print market for well over 40 years is an assurance that we usually maintain a long term partnership with our clients; helping them to cut cost, improve print performance and give advice on new print projects.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SERVICING NIGERIA PRINTING INDUSTRY?
We have been in this country for over 40 years, supplying the industry stakeholders with arrays of printing equipments, consumables from various printing machines manufacturers all over the world. And with engineers that have been trained by these manufacturers to offer proper printing support solutions.
HOW MANY ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS DO YOU REPRESENT?
We have supplied different kind of machines to various printing organizations over the years. But one good thing about Hambleside is that we have a very good relationship with virtually all the Original Equipment Manufacturers all over the world. We have years of experience dealing with them and we are backed by huge support team in the United Kingdom – offering technical support and advice on any issues related to printing equipments and consumables usage. Our clients usually call on us for support on any of their printing machines in respective of the brand; because there is no printing equipment or consumables that we cannot supply or service. We are also very much aware of the changes in the market – we keep up with the trend.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE YOU HAVE BEEN GETTING FROM YOUR CLIENTS OVER THE YEARS?
Forty years is a long time, but the responses so far have been a positive; our clients are definitely pleased with our services over the years. Just like the testimony you just heard from Adetola Olabajo, the Chief Executive Officer of First Rehoboth who recently purchased a complete ECRM Mako Computer to Plate System from us. This attests to the fact that majority of our clients are usually pleased with our service over the years. One of the interesting about the clients is that despite the tough economic situation in Nigeria we still have clients that still invest massively in huge printing equipments from Hambleside.
ABOUT STEPHEN AND IVOR
STEPHEN HARRIS, the international Sales Manager of Hambleside studied printing for five years and worked for global print manufacturing companies in Technical and Sales roles. With his wealth of experience in the print industry, he can offer any printing solution to any printer. After attending Norwich College in UK and immediately after college he worked with Balding and Mansell as a printer on a multi-unit colour Heidelberg 102 presses – one of the UK high quality presses over 30 years ago. Before now he was responsible for business development of printing plates and CTP solutions in Europe, but his new challenge now is the African market most especially West Africa countries.
IVOR HUTCHINSON studied at Brunel University in United Kingdom, he has been with Hambleside for over seventeen years and is now one of the Directors of Hambleside.
