8 minute read
STAR BUSINESS: SPOT PRODUCTIONS
Spot Productions invests in new tech to support expansion plans
Having seen massive growth in recent years, Simon Carmody recently invested in several new machines to deliver on quality products for Spot Productions’ clients.
Expansion is the name of the game, and keeping up with technological advancements in printing to support its full-service business is what’s driving Simon Carmody’s agenda at Spot Productions. Even though the company is Brisbane-based, it services a local, national and international clientele, encompassing many applications of services including offset, short-run digital and wide-format printing.
Carmody, who is the managing director of Spot Productions, said his new investments include a Screen 8900N II E CTP, two wide-format machines from Fujifilm – a Mimaki UJV55-320 LED-UV inkjet printer and a Fujifilm Acuity Prime 20 LED UV flatbed printer – and a new Ryobi eight-colour press that was installed following a fire at the factory in November last year. There’s no stopping Carmody as he’s already looking to add a 2.5m Fujifilm Acuity Hybrid to the mix to print on rolls and rigid boards.
Spot Productions is certainly going through a wave of growth, but it emerged from humble beginnings – Carmody’s father Peter and his business partner Mark Jackson started the boutique business, which was then named Spot the Printer, in 2001.
As a small business, it offered services such as printing business cards and docket books.
Carmody started off his career in print at News Limited as an apprentice. He then joined the late Tom Lusch at Platypus Print Packaging and worked there for about nine years in the ‘90s. Soon after, Carmody joined Spot the Printer in 2007, and that same year renamed the business to Spot Productions and moved it to where it is currently located in Pinkenba.
“In my early days, I had experience on the printing floor as well as working as foreman and a production manager. I then transitioned into sales and enjoyed dealing with clients. I also learnt so much from my time at Platypus Print Packaging and still keep in touch with them today,” he said.
“When I joined the business, there was only about 10 staff and when we moved to this site, we increased our team size to 18 people. Over the journey, we now have over 90 staff.”
The presses that the company own have also changed significantly. In the initial days, it only housed a few A3-sized presses but that has now expanded to include A2- and A1-sized presses, all of which are multicoloured and perfecting presses.
“It has certainly been a big jump for Spot Productions. We’ve been on this site for 17 years and I have seen the business grow and evolve throughout my entire journey. At Spot Productions we keep up with technology as much as our budget can afford; this has been an integral part of the process,” Carmody said.
“Offset sits around 70 per cent of Spot Productions’ turnover. Cut sheet, digital and wide format makes up the remaining 30 per cent. Business in these areas is continually growing for us – at present the only area we haven’t got any appetite to expand into is packaging.”
At the forefront of technology
According to Carmody, Spot Productions was the first to bring LED printing into Australia with the install of a Ryobi. Since then, it has added another eight-colour machine and upgraded its facility with more offset, digital and wide-format machines.
“We’re certainly at the forefront of technology with our offset offerings. Recently, over the last four months, we’ve added some Fujifilm wide format gear and are in the process of finalising a proposal with Fujifilm for the Acuity as well,” Carmody said.
“We’ve had a pre-existing relationship with Fujifilm through the purchase of some cutsheet Iridesse machines, so that partnership’s really strong – and we wanted to strengthen it further.”
“We also had to buy a new plate setter from Fujifilm because we couldn’t keep up with the demand of work. We can do up to 100 plates an hour now, which is incredible because prior to the investment we were only outputting 30 plates an hour.”
“Since the installation of our new Mimaki UJV55-320 and Fujifilm Acuity Prime 20 from Fujifilm, our speed to market and quality has increased multi-fold. Our staff are happy to run the machines as well, as they’re easier to use and are seamless to operate. They’re just the right fit for our business.”
Spot Productions got a change-up in machines again at the end of 2023, when unfortunately, a fire caused damage to the existing Ryobi 10-colour press.
“The fire happened on the back of the best four months I’ve ever had in our business – we had just added a Ryobi eight-colour A1 in July to sit alongside the 10-colour Ryobi. Then, in November, an electrical malfunction between the perfecting units resulted in a fire. The damage was assessed and agreed upon that the fault was caused just by accident, and we were best off getting a new machine,” Carmody recalled.
“That’s easier said than done. We were lucky because Cyber was installing a Ryobi eight-colour press in Malaysia. We knew that client well, so after some discussions, it was agreed that this machine would be installed at Spot Productions instead, as this was crucial for the security of our business.
“This machine was up and running in five months. In the interim, Cyber and Ryobi had a four-colour press available, which they installed within four weeks. This machine and my other two Ryobi presses ran for 24 hours a day until we got the new eight-colour up and running.”
At the back of drupa, a Spot Productions tradesman also visited China to check out some finishing equipment for highspeed die cutting and PUR binding.
“We’re not going to jump into that just yet but we need to understand what this may look like for our business in the future. We enjoy a very close relationship with our finishing suppliers in Queensland and they are a great extension of our business. But in this environment, we can’t afford to not have a Plan B if they decide to shut down or merge with another printer or supplier. So, to be safe, we’ve got to future-proof our business,” Carmody mentioned.
An upturn from skilled shortages
Carmody is not only investing in the best of the best in equipment. He’s also investing in the people of Spot Productions.
In mid-2023, Carmody took to importing labour and hired staff from overseas as the manufacturing industry faced a shortage of skilled workers.
At that time, Spot Productions was approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to have skilled labour imported. So Carmody brought into Australia international staff – personnel from the Philippines, Malaysia, and South Africa – to service roles within wide format printing, offset printing and internal estimating in customer service within Spot Productions.
But since then, Carmody said finding local talent has become a lot easier.
“Unemployment and immigration numbers are now increasing, so we now attract about 15 applicants for a job ad instead of the minimal prior. In addition, there’s plenty of consolidation happening in the Queensland print market and that has resulted in people looking for jobs,” he said.
“Retention of staff has also been easier to maintain. There’s a lot more stability in the industry and I expect this to get stronger over the next year or two. We continue to source labour from New Zealand, Philippines and South Africa, and that has been tremendous for Spot Productions.”
Spot Productions’ future is bright, with Carmody saying that the company is moving on the trajectory that he has planned for.
“We’re at the size now where we’re quite a substantial player in the Australian market. Larger organisations look forward to using Spot Productions for their offerings. We’re certainly positioned nicely to be a tier two printer, and that’s where we are excelling,” he added.
“We’ve also expanded our premises and moved into our new facilities across the road – it has taken us about three years to do this. Adding more machinery, adding more power, and having the right workflow and production has taken us a fair while, but this is now completed and we’re seeing the right results.
“We’re now in about 6000 square metres of space and can expand it further if we do wish to, but we’re settled for the next three to four years. We’ve found that the output of the business and our turnover has increased tremendously, and our available space to get more work done has increased as well. We’ve got plenty to look forward to at Spot Productions.”
