PrintingNews.com

Surviving Tough Times

Most of the United States remembers last year as one of the hardest to endure, but 2008 was a "booming year" for Network Financial Printing, even though the banking industry took a huge hit last November and December.

When it comes to surviving a recession, "you need to be optimistic," said Concannon. "I survived the recession in 1987. I was lucky then because I was printing bank notes. From that time until 1994 I never saw that recession. I've been through the dot.com bubble," he said.

After Sept. 11, he "took a bit of a hit and got into manufacturing," but once people regained confidence, business got better. "I feel that the economy will pick up in 2010. Once people get their confidence back, things will start turning around," he said.

"(Even in this economy) you can get business. If you're smart enough, the business is there. You just have to be aggressive enough to get it. Business has slowed, but is hasn't stopped," Concannon advised.

He is currently looking into bankruptcy printing because of the economy, which would keep law firms busy. He has the facility to satisfy or exceed the high financial printing standards, plus people are always looking for service.

"There aren't a lot of financial printers left. I'm fortunate enough to be in a good position that allows me to capitalize on the growth and changes in the industry. The key is manufacturing and being located in New York City. Selling print production equipment—that's where the business is going. I don't have as much competition here because a lot of printers moved into Long Island City or New Jersey," he explained.

Concannon is in seemingly constant transition. As technology changes, he transfers from one piece of equipment to another. It's about keeping up with the technology. He said that printers can't buy a sheetfed press and keep it for 20 years, and that equipment typically lasts two to three years before it becomes dated.

He is also constantly changing his workflow more toward automation. He said that most of it will eventually be completely automated, creating less room for error. "Automation will be the key, and everything will be inline."

He also explained that when it comes to surviving a recession, at one point printers need to be able to save some money and be able to finance their own companies. Have some foresight to see when things are changing, and make some hard decisions when needed. Work hard and devote time to any new business, and make sure you have good, loyal employees who will be there during the hard times.