Dundee company Fairprint has broken the £9 million turnover barrier for the first time.
The UK’s largest trade printer reported a strong trading year in 2014 as it continued its period of growth.
The online commodity print company which won the The Courier’s digital and online business of the year award for 2014 recorded a 20% rise in turnover to £9m.
Profit before tax was also up 20% at just under £2m for the company, which is based at Wester Gourdie Industrial Estate.
Director Roderick Scrimgeour said the future developments of the business may be subject to unforeseen events outwith the directors’ control.
The board continued to follow management policies to promote continued strengthening of the management team. Operating practices are under continuous review to ensure the company maintains the high quality of its product, he added.
Retention of profits with £2.85m being carried forward after tax and after accounting for reserve movements would help the company respond to changes in the requirements of its customers, the marketplace and rising costs.
Fairprint, which increased its workforce during the year by 20 to 77 and is a significant employer of apprentices, was formed in 1997.
Its mission statement is to provide consistent high-quality commodity print, competitively priced and delivered on time through online channels which are intuitive and easy to use.
Fairprint has developed bespoke software for manufacturing, opening access to new markets. It now has more developers than printers and has described itself as a software company that happens to print.
Its seamless single manufacturing process allows plate-changing in one minute 40 seconds as against a typical 15 minutes.
It set a UK first in ordering a second Perfector press as part of its ongoing £8m investment plan
The company predicted 2015 would be an exciting year as it further streamlined and automated its systems and set its sights on expanding into mainland Europe
It would develop a fully automated packing line working with a manufacturer to perfect a unique automated business card cutting and packaging system which it would patent.
Fairprint is the only printer worldwide to be licensed by the press-maker Heidelberg to upgrade its workflow process from input to finishing.