Maxi Press adds clothing line to printing business
Published:Monday | July 16, 2018 | 12:00 AMAvia Collinder
Printing company Maxi Press Limited, based in Negril, has found a niche for its services in the tourism sector, specialising in entertainment signage, clothing and decoration.
Owners of the six-year-old company, Mark Mieke and Kayona Stewart-Mieke, are about to expand, using a $40 million loan facility from EXIM Bank Jamaica that they will as working capital for the company and to refurbish a building as a production facility for the business, inclusive of a nascent clothing line.
"We are planning a warehouse/manufacturing facility in Negril, Westmoreland and planning to expand our business to a new level which gives us the ability to serve our customers faster with better quality," said Mieke in an interview with the Financial Gleaner.
The company is also making use of new technologies, with Mieke citing, as example, LED screens now being customised for placement on the Beach Road in Negril for customer The Boardwalk Village. Maxi Press is also developing a new Web2Print solution that will allow its clients to customise their products online.
The Miekes both have backgrounds in print and graphic design. Their company currently serves 22 clients in the hospitality sector, but they hope to grow their customer base through partnerships in the area of clothing design, targeting "designers in Jamaica who cannot afford to start a sustainable business by themselves".
WIDE-FORMAT PRINTING
For now, the mainstay of the business is wide-format printing, which includes signage, outdoor menus and production for entertainment decoration.
"We implement marketing plans for our customers which include, of course, marketing tools - like printing products - which we can produce," Mieke said.
The couple launched into business in 2012 with "capital of less than US$2,000", and pumped additional funds into the operation over time. Last year, Maxi Press' sales turnover was $20 million, said Mieke, while noting that the projection for this year is an ambitious 47 per cent increase in revenue.
Some of that estimate is based on the expected performance of the company's newest business line: clothing.
"Since 2016 we are able to produce our own apparel line under the brand 'Maxi Chique', which we also customise with individualised printing, logo stitching and more," he said.
As to the $40 million loan, Mieke said the funds are coming from a credit line financed by Development Bank of Jamaica and EXIM Bank, but disbursed through the latter lending agency. EXIM has not responded to requests for comment on the loan.
"We got approval, taking all the hurdles we were confronted with. We are patiently awaiting disbursement," Mieke said.