It’s a big year for Print Room.
Last month, ground was broken on a new factory build in Kaikorai Valley Rd and completion is likely towards the end of the year.
But one key person was missing when the first sod was turned: co-founder Jon Thom was in Melbourne where he has opened the Australian office of the screenprinting, embroidery and promotional product specialists.
For something that had been worked on for so long, it was a strange feeling not to be there when it finally came to fruition but it was going to be ‘‘awesome’’ for the business, Mr Thom said.
It was 2013 when Mr Thom and fellow co-founder Chris Brun spotted an old door in Dunedin which became their first manual screen-printing machine.
They started printing their own T-shirts for their fashion label Moodie Tuesday and their work soon caught the attention of others and demand grew.
‘‘We make businesses look good and help tell their story.’’
Mr Thom said there were not many owner-occupier projects of the scale of Print Room’s new premises in Dunedin and it could be a blueprint for what manufacturing companies could do.
While proud of what had been achieved so far, it was ‘‘only really kicking off as well which is quite cool. A lot of businesses would be happy with what we’ve got to this point,’’ he said.
It was fortunate both he and Mr Brun started the business in their mid-20s and they still had ‘‘a lot left in the tank’’. They were young enough to be in Australia and continue to expand the business.
Mr Thom always had a hankering to do something in Australia and it got to a ‘‘now or never’’ moment to move to Melbourne with his partner Jaz. ‘‘It’s nice to be taking Dunedin to the world and showing it can be done.’’
Having been in the city for more than a month, a lot of that time had been spent figuring out what the differences were. The scale was a lot bigger and he believed the Australians were quite open to doing business and quite straightforward in dealing.
‘‘You want to lead with your best foot forward and understand where we sit in the market now,’’ he said.
A benefit of coming from New Zealand was he was seeing it with fresh eyes and opportunities ‘‘and I can see what’s happening in Melbourne and look to roll that out in New Zealand’’.
Melbourne was sometimes seen as the underdog city to Sydney which was more fast-paced and more glamorous, but it it was a creative city with ‘‘awesome’’ food and lifestyle. There were also a lot of Dunedin people in Melbourne.
Surrounded by arts and culture, events and sports, there were constantly things going on. ‘‘It’s cool to be in the thick of it and be able to soak it up and get lots of ideas.’’
Print Room has a team of about 17 in Dunedin and four in the Philippines.
Mr Thom was constantly in touch with the Dunedin headquarters, thanks to technology, and the time zone difference of only two hours worked well. He intended to be back every month or quarter.