Klewchuck, who bought Impro’s assets, payroll and trading name on 1 November, told Printweek he had high ambitions for the business, which had run for over 40 years before encountering trouble during Covid.
Impro had “limped along” in recent years under the weight of Covid loans and dwindling earnings, according to Klewchuck, and had seen much of its leadership team move elsewhere during Covid, leaving former managing director Ernest Culley to steer the company.
Culley has retired following the acquisition, which was completed for an undisclosed sum.
Klewchuck’s purchase of Impro has already seen two new senior appointments to fill the void, with longstanding Impro employee Kirk Dominy appointed as operations director, and Gavin Leitch hired as sales director from W&G Baird.
They join Impro’s 14 employees that transferred in the purchase, with Klewchuck hoping to build for growth in the next few years.
“We’ve transferred all the staff on full contracts, so for us it’s business as usual,” he said.
Impro’s assets, including a Komori Lithrone S29 H-UV press installed in 2016, have been likewise transferred.
“The business itself is renowned for its quality service, especially with the H-UV Komori. The foundation is there to build a really good business.
“The processes, the infrastructure, the machinery, the assets are all very good, and it just needs a bit of life and sales [personnel] brought in. With the different management it shouldn’t be hard to bring it back to pre-Covid levels,” he said.
The firm, which employed around 25 before Covid, turns over around £1m, with Klewchuck aiming to grow the business to £2.5m by the end of 2023.
Part of this growth will come from planned investment in new kit. The installation of a new PrintIQ MIS will be completed this month, with £250,000 worth of new folding and binding equipment - as yet unspecified - to go in later in the year.
A further £60,000 will go to refitting the Impro site.
The old Impro legal entity was appointed liquidators from Begbies Traynor on 10 Nov 2022.
