8 | Tauranga Business Awards: Kale Print ‘People-first’ approach makes the difference Kale Print won three major prizes at the Tauranga Business Awards in the categories for People and Culture, Customer Experience and Service Excellence. Kale Print general manager, Peter Lloyd, and marketing manager, Tessa Rowe, at the awards ceremony. T T Karen Phelps REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Kale Print’s success over the years has centred on not being afraid to take a hard look at the business and to constantly improve and evolve, says company general manager Peter Lloyd. “We’re always looking to better ourselves and have a firm focus on family values and putting people – staff and customers – first,” he says. This has recently seen Kale Print win three major prizes at the Tauranga Business Awards in the categories for People and Culture, Customer Experience and Service Excellence. The company was also a finalist in the Continuous Improvement category and in the overall Tauranga Business of the Year Award. “The awards gave us an opportunity to benchmark ourselves against the best in the industry and to seek opportunities for growth and development,” explains Peter. Stephen and Jill Kale founded the company in 1985 and it is still family owned and operated. Stephen and Jill still actively work in the business along with sons Gavin and Brent (production manager) and numerous family members. Peter says family values are the cornerstone of the successful business. “Kale Print is very much a place where people can come and feel looked after and cared for. Family and community values are strong here,” he says. Kale Print employs 40 staff across three manufacturing sites in Tauranga, Rotorua and Whitianga and has been on an active growth phase, recently acquiring Endeavour Print in Whitianga to extend its customer base in the Bay of Plenty. Before that it acquired Rotorua-based Advocate Print. Peter says the moves have been about future proofing the business so it can ensure it remains true to its core focus – taking care of its team and customers. It’s a strategy that has helped the company to deliver the highest levels of service and print quality and Kale Print is regularly recognised in the annual Pride in Print Awards. This is also the result of investing in the latest technology, its people and processes to increase quality and efficiencies across the business. It’s seen other printing companies also utilise the services of Kale Print on certain jobs. “From administration to delivery we have really talented people at every touch point. This is essential to manufacture such a variety of products in quick time frames for our clients. “Our staff retention rate is exceptional – we don’t often see people leave. We see our people as our greatest asset and there is a lot of experience across all aspects of the business. “We make sure Kale Print is a fun place to work and like to support the wider community whenever we can. “This sees the team donating blood regularly and Kale Print supporting many community groups throughout the region.” The good vibe spreads to customers and a recent survey of the entire database achieved a Net Promoter score of 91, which Peter says is “off the charts”, when the company completes some 1500-2000 jobs a month, and a great achievement for the Kale Print team. The sheer volume of work necessitates great systems so that’s been a real focus for Kale Print, he says. A good example is that the company produces some 25,000 quotes a year so a computer system has been developed to make this easier. “So rather than one full time estimator also up to ten staff can generate a quote really quickly for customers. We also have staff working on training tools for new recruits coming into the business so our customers always have a great experience. “These are just a couple of examples that show we love what we do. It’s a fast paced industry that is constantly changing but we want Kale Print to be very much a place where people can come and feel looked after and cared for.” “Our staff retention rate is exceptional – we don’t often see people leave. We see our people as our greatest asset and there is a lot of experience across all aspects of the business.”
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