Sabre Signs, which sits on the fringe of what was the CBD, had much of its equipment destroyed due to liquefaction, which owner Colin Francois described “as a thick, oozing mud and slush bubbling up through the floor. It looked like a burst water pipe”.
When the earthquake hit in February this year Sabre Signs was in full production, all its machines in operation and jobs in various stages of completion.
“The magnitude of the earthquake was such that the whole building shook, the floors heaved and the ceiling in the flatbed print room collapsed onto the equipment which was damaged beyond repair,” said Colin who bought the business in 2005.
The silver lining to this grey cloud was the fact that HP’s Channel Partner in New Zealand, Jenrite, was ready to step in and help straight away, stated Colin. “Forward-thinking suppliers like Jenrite were on the ball days after the quake offering advice and replacement equipment. They were able to organise quotes for us so we could file our insurance claims and to guarantee delivery dates so we could work towards re-opening. Jenrite made the process so easy for us which was a huge relief”.
Sabre Signs’ HP Designjet Z6100 was repaired, and the company replaced its damaged equipment with the latest generation flatbed machine, the HP Scitex FB700 and a new HP Designjet L25500, the company’s first venture with the Latex inks machine. Two months after the quake Sabre Signs was back in business.
Colin said the volume of work the company does for local businesses “has halved, but we are one of the major online print suppliers in New Zealand and one of the largest real estate signage producers. People from all over the country are buying print with us online. There’s been a lot of empathy amongst the rest of the country to help us (Christchurch) dig our way out”.
It has taken the company six months to reach its pre-quake turnover, and Colin is confident the upward swing will continue. He said the installation of the HP Scitex FB700 “has made a substantial difference to the business and is our biggest revenue earner. Before the quake we had been thinking about investing in a flatbed machine that delivered better print quality and was faster than what we had been operating. It made sense to look at our options and to purchase a machine that will take us into the future”.
The company also took the opportunity to install an HP Latex inks machine. Colin said he was hesitant at first, but “we took Jenrite’s advice and it has been a life saver and carried us through. We hardly use our other large format printer (a competitor’s brand) anymore because the speed and print quality from the Latex machine is superior. My staff are that impressed with it, they use it all the time. This machine has proven a real boon for us”.
In August Sabre Signs hosted a customer event to celebrate being back to “normal” and to “show off” their new equipment. “We had a terrific turnout and the event not only enabled us to socialise with our clients, but to show them that we are well and truly back on track”.
In conclusion Colin said, “The rebuild program here is massive and there is a lot of work for signage companies for both indoor and outdoor signs. We are wholesalers and retailers so we are producing work for a broad range of businesses on a variety of substrates and it is this diversity that has helped us to get through”.
Sabre Signs
www.sabresigns.co.nz
HP Graphic Arts
www.hp.com.au/graphicarts
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| Admiring the output |
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| Colin Francois (left) takes delivery of the FB700 from Jenrite's Roy Hollick |
“The magnitude of the earthquake was such that the whole building shook, the floors heaved and the ceiling in the flatbed print room collapsed onto the equipment which was damaged beyond repair,” said Colin who bought the business in 2005.
The silver lining to this grey cloud was the fact that HP’s Channel Partner in New Zealand, Jenrite, was ready to step in and help straight away, stated Colin. “Forward-thinking suppliers like Jenrite were on the ball days after the quake offering advice and replacement equipment. They were able to organise quotes for us so we could file our insurance claims and to guarantee delivery dates so we could work towards re-opening. Jenrite made the process so easy for us which was a huge relief”.
Sabre Signs’ HP Designjet Z6100 was repaired, and the company replaced its damaged equipment with the latest generation flatbed machine, the HP Scitex FB700 and a new HP Designjet L25500, the company’s first venture with the Latex inks machine. Two months after the quake Sabre Signs was back in business.
Colin said the volume of work the company does for local businesses “has halved, but we are one of the major online print suppliers in New Zealand and one of the largest real estate signage producers. People from all over the country are buying print with us online. There’s been a lot of empathy amongst the rest of the country to help us (Christchurch) dig our way out”.
It has taken the company six months to reach its pre-quake turnover, and Colin is confident the upward swing will continue. He said the installation of the HP Scitex FB700 “has made a substantial difference to the business and is our biggest revenue earner. Before the quake we had been thinking about investing in a flatbed machine that delivered better print quality and was faster than what we had been operating. It made sense to look at our options and to purchase a machine that will take us into the future”.
The company also took the opportunity to install an HP Latex inks machine. Colin said he was hesitant at first, but “we took Jenrite’s advice and it has been a life saver and carried us through. We hardly use our other large format printer (a competitor’s brand) anymore because the speed and print quality from the Latex machine is superior. My staff are that impressed with it, they use it all the time. This machine has proven a real boon for us”.
In August Sabre Signs hosted a customer event to celebrate being back to “normal” and to “show off” their new equipment. “We had a terrific turnout and the event not only enabled us to socialise with our clients, but to show them that we are well and truly back on track”.
In conclusion Colin said, “The rebuild program here is massive and there is a lot of work for signage companies for both indoor and outdoor signs. We are wholesalers and retailers so we are producing work for a broad range of businesses on a variety of substrates and it is this diversity that has helped us to get through”.
Sabre Signs
www.sabresigns.co.nz
HP Graphic Arts
www.hp.com.au/graphicarts
