A Lawrence printing company is well on its way to its goal of doubling in size after moving its factory to Dunedin earlier this year.
Tuapeka Gold Print opened its Fairfield Factory on April 28.
At the time, managing director Brad Houghton said Tuapeka Gold Print was committed to bucking the trend of job losses in Dunedin and aimed to double the size of its business within a ''few years''.
On Friday, general manager Greg Jolly said two months down the track the firm was on the way to achieving this target.
May had been the second biggest month on record in the company's 26-year history, with 2500 orders totalling 1,150,000 product units dispatched.
The business had employed about 20 new staff and looked set to raise its turnover by 20% this financial year, Mr Jolly said.
About 68 people were now employed, 24 of whom commuted from Lawrence.
The company has recently increased its catalogue of products 10% from 540 to 600 and plans to increase this by another 10% later in the year.
The decision to move to Fairfield was made because there was no more room in the old factory in Lawrence.
''We'd run out of space. We couldn't get any more air into the balloon,'' Mr Jolly said.
The new premises gave Tuapeka Print room to expand and fit in more printing equipment.
The company was founded by Jim Robertson in 1987, who started printing business cards at home on the kitchen table.
Tuapeka Gold Print initially focused on printing pens. By 1993, with sales of up to four million pens, it was the largest printed pen business in New Zealand and had grown to become the largest employer in Lawrence.
Tuapeka Gold Print now prints on many more items, including bags, pens, cups, mugs, drink bottles, speakers, note pads, and glasses. The firm's business is predominantly from New Zealand, with some growth in the Australian market.
- by Jonathan Chilton-Towle
