22
01732 759725
LOGISTICS
The family-run company’s
core business is buying used
multifunctional printers from a large
number of dealers and OEMs and
reselling them all over the world.
Established in 2002 by Managing
Director Stephen Armistead, who works
alongside his two sons and daughter, Trade
Copiers initially traded within the UK,
but having steadily built up a network of
contacts overseas, it now conducts about
95% of its business abroad. It ships used
machines by the container-load all over the
world to destinations including UAE, China,
Singapore and Malaysia and to a lesser
extent within the EU.
Fuelled by ever growing global demand
for second-hand devices in full working
order, Trade Copiers has achieved sustained
year on year growth. Turnover this year
was 20% up on last year and Armistead
is targeting a further 20% to 30% growth
next year. He added: “Further growth is
firmly on the agenda. We hope to double
in size over the next three years.”
The company’s core business is
supplemented by a secondary branch
that supplies consumables. “This is an
additional service we offer to customers
and is complementary to our main
business,” explained Armistead. “We only
deal in original supplies, keep large up-
to-date stocks and offer fast delivery and
competitive pricing.”
Further expansion
Trade Copiers is now planning to
expand its operations further with
the establishment of a new dual-line
dealership to supply MFPs and printers to
local companies. “We are in talks with a
number of OEMs and we will also create a
local service operation,” said Armistead.
“It’s the next natural progression for
us. We already supply equipment locally on
a small scale and we know a lot of people.
We’re looking to really ramp that up. It’s
a massive opportunity to create a new
revenue stream, especially within service.
That’s where much of the growth will come
from in the next couple of years.”
The company is currently recruiting
for this new venture and has up to five
vacancies to fill across both sales and
service.
On the road
Meanwhile, the export side of the business
continues to be extremely successful,
with orders coming in thick and fast from
customers worldwide. The firm has a fleet
of lorries on the road five days a week,
collecting used MFPs and wide format
printers that are then taken back to Penrith
where they are wiped of all data prior to
resale.
“We deal mostly with trading posts
and we ship by the container-load. A lot
of the countries we sell into buy in bulk
and then ship on to final destinations. We
are moving kit in and out all the time,”
explained Armistead.
In an average month, Trade Copiers
exports in excess of 1,000 machines.
“We have massive capacity here and can
process significantly more devices than we
are currently handling. We can carry up
to 3,000 machines on-site and it makes
Penrith-based Trade Copiers is leveraging its massive stock holding capacity to
establish a complementary operation supplying new equipment to local businesses
Playing to its strengths
commercial sense to leverage our capability
and utilise that space to hold stocks of
new equipment as well,” he said.
Armistead acknowledges that it will
take some time to get into a positive
position with this new venture but says the
business is strong. Last year, Trade Copiers,
which started out renting 100 sq. ft. in
a warehouse, purchased new premises
incorporating a 25,000 sq. ft. warehouse.
Significant investment
“We invested heavily and secured a much
bigger site, which importantly provided us
with space to build additional warehousing
and office accommodation to support
future growth,” he said.
The company has added two
extensions, including a new loading
dock, and has already embarked on
Phase Two, which includes a major office
refurbishment.
In addition, Trade Copiers has invested
a quarter of a million pounds in its
transport fleet. The acquisition of two
26 tonne HGVs for making collections
and deliveries across the UK and Europe
plus another 7 tonne van brings the total
number of vehicles in the company’s fleet
to five. Professional livery promotes the
brand on every vehicle.
Headcount, too, has grown in line with
business growth. There are now more
than 20 staff based in the Penrith office
and the firm recently recruited more sales
professionals to drive further growth.
We invested
heavily and
secured a
much bigger
site, which
provided us
with space to
build additional
warehousing
and office
accommodation
to support
future growth
TRADE COPIERS
