Melbourne soft signage printer AFI Branding has consolidated its three facilities into one new supersite to accommodate sales growth and streamline production process.
The purpose-built 3000sqm Carrum Downs plant will combine all AFI’s equipment and 40 staff, and allow the 22-year-old company to continue expanding operations in the rapidly developing soft signage market, and come up with new products.
Managing director Glenn Watson says getting the whole firm under one roof has been a goal for quite some time, and that the new plant was built to accommodate significant future expansion, having added eight staff in the past four months.
“A great deal of effort and time has been invested in creating a production facility and work environment that made sense for our workflow and ensures minimal handling of our products,” he says.
“We have created it with future growth targets in mind – we have even taken power and data to positions on the factory floor where we are planning to locate new machines over the coming years.”
[Related: More fabric printing news]
Watson says the company is already investing in new equipment and hopes to use the greater capacity and better workflow to drive innovation and expansion into new fabric markets – some of which AFI hopes to create itself.
“We aim to be at the forefront of the continual evolution of soft signage and bring out innovations that people haven’t even thought of yet,” he says.
“We are always coming up with something new to beat the competition and then the market will copy it.”
Watson says Reframe, which AFI developed several years ago, now makes up 50 per cent of the company’s business.
He says one client saved more than $50,000 in freight costs alone compared to 20mm foam board because it can be flat packed, put in a bag and sent in the post.
“Once people try it they tend to stick with it. We have been heavily promoting it and we believe the product is becoming mature,” he says.
[Related: More AFI news]
Watson says AFI’s team includes designers and manufacture and assembly staff to give clients efficiency gains from complete in-house service.
“Clients also know they will be first to market with new products and innovations we create,” he says.
AFI’s main markets are events, expos and retail in other than reframe its offerings include substrates, wallpapers, indoor and outdoor flags and custom fabric architecture solutions.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter