As the South African industry leader in branded stationery and promotional items, Barno has been applying its expert knowledge to the market for more than 60 years. If your company is in need of high quality, bespoke products created using full binding, leather craftsmen or the latest in digital printing technology, then Barno is the provider for you.
In these increasingly competitive times, how a company presents itself is now one of the most important aspects of any strategy. Branding has moved to the forefront of business planning and getting the right message to the customer base is more important than ever. You can’t be all things to all people; today you have to specialise. Your brand tells your customers what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors. According to Entrepreneur Magazine ‘your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be’.
But what about when one of the responsibilities of your brand is the effective delivery of someone else’s brand? This makes business that little bit more difficult but if you gain the correct partner, you can derive huge benefits.
In South Africa, one of the leading suppliers of branded stationery, promotional items and professional printing services is Cape Town-based Barno. The company helps big name clients create branded products that are relevant, fresh and useful.
For example, using its state-of-the-art technology, Barno can print logos and marketing material onto cheque book covers or credit card holders for the banks; it can create fully branded document folders for the leisure industry, and it can print effective marketing banners for exhibitions or advertising campaigns, ensuring that the client’s brand is projected in the desired way – and these are just a few of the services provided by this innovative organisation.
Barno has a long history in South Africa having been formed in 1953 by two Dutch immigrants who came to the country with the idea of starting a PVC welding business. The pair became the pioneers of PVC welding in SA and piloted the business successfully for many years. Current Managing Director, Herman Fourie started out as the company’s auditor. A Chartered Accountant by trade, Fourie was involved in the business for some time before the owners eventually asked him to buy into the company. He tells Enterprise Africa that, after years of growth, Barno is now seeking expansion into new markets, new territories and new product lines.
“Our economy does not grow a lot and that means if you want to increase your slice of the pie, you have to take from someone else and that’s not always healthy. You can also move into new product lines and that’s what we’re doing – we’re always adding new product lines, we’re always trying to enter new markets and although the economy is not growing, we do grow our business,” he says.
Currently, Barno has a presence in Botswana and Namibia and this is something the company would like to increase. “We want to grow in Africa but it’s very difficult. Some of the economies are not as sophisticated as ours and business can be difficult. We always like to grow in areas that have a strong financial sector, with sound banks and building societies. We also like to grow in areas with a strong leisure industry – hotels, lodges etc – that’s an important market for us and for Africa,” explains Fourie.
Outside of Africa, Barno is looking to capitalise on favourable export conditions and take advantage of the weak Rand. The company has been dabbling in exports for many years, and a particular focus has been on the Australian market. At the end of 2015, Barno made a move to recapture market share down-under by restarting its Australian satellite office which had lost momentum after initially opening more than two decades ago.
“We battled hard to break into the Australian market. We started by approaching companies and showing them the quality improvements they could have by switching to our products but they were not willing to pay more so now we are offering the same product, at better quality, but for a better price and we’re hoping that will attract customers.
“We’re very keen to grow the export market. We have the capacity, we have the time, everything is in our favour, we just need to build the demand,” says Fourie.
At home in South Africa, Barno is looking to make technological advancements by adding 3D printing capabilities to its stable. Already more-than competent in the digital printing market, 3D printing is the obvious next step for a company like Barno as the competences of this innovative sector begin to hit the mainstream in South Africa and local companies begin to offer SA-made printers for reasonable prices.
“It’s the most exciting but daunting prospect that we have coming,” says Fourie. “We will offer 3D printing of prototypes, for example with show-housing. It’s easy to look at, you can touch it and feel it and it gives a great indication of what the finished product will look like. Sales people will be able to use these prototypes to drive sales so it’s hugely beneficial.
“It’s very expensive to buy these machines and they can be very slow and we know that technology is constantly changing. We are very excited about it and now we’re just waiting to take the final decision.”
INDUSTRY LEADING
Now more than 60 years old, Barno has carved out a unique position in the market and is trusted by some of the biggest names including ABSA, FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Seeff, Rawson Properties, Pam Golding Properties, BMW SA, PWC, Toyota, BP, Absolut Vodka and many more. This leading position is largely down the company’s ability to tailor its services to meet the needs of clients – something which many competitors are not prepared to do.
“We have huge competition from China, where people can buy huge volumes, but these products are not decorated and they are not prepared to offer smaller orders. We focus on decorating through digital printing, embossing or foiling so that the product stands out and you can be proud to be associated with it,” explains Fourie.
“We operate mainly in the Western Cape and we are one of two companies in this province that can offer these services. We have a sales office in Johannesburg and we will deliver our goods there after they are manufactured here in Cape Town.
“We are very different from most of the competition. We are big in digital printing and others stay with silk screen printing. I definitely believe that we are industry leaders in our field,” he says.
But it hasn’t always been this way. Barno has had to fight hard to come through tough times and, where other manufacturing companies have fallen to the wayside, Fourie and Barno have managed to thrive through wise investment, an in-depth understanding of the industry, and a committed and skilled workforce.
“Until three years ago, we would say that every single South African got one of our products because we printed the PVC cover of the identity book,” Fourie says. “Now the country uses a card system. The financial sector was our main focus; cheque book covers, credit card holders, leather ring binders and more but now, because of the rise in technology, people don’t use cheque books so we offer different services to the banks, who remain our main target.
“We’ve modernised the business and installed many new developments, the latest of which was seven years ago when we started buying digital printing machines. We used to do silk screen printing but today we have four flatbed digital printers and we are one of the top companies when it comes to printing onto PVC,” he explains.
“Another serious change to the business came 10 years ago when BEE regulations were introduced. This means you can go to a black investor and they will buy into your company but instead we decided to offer shareholding to our black employees who have a vested interest in the success of the company.
“This has been a huge success. We thought a lot about it and thought that the people that deserve a shareholding most are those who work here. Everybody in the business is involved and everyone is keen to succeed as they are all shareholders.”
Barno employs approximately 160 people and all are affectionately known as the ‘Barno-bees’. These people actively contribute to the success of the business. “The essence of Barno lies in the fact that our people – Barno-bees – live the brand every day because they are the brand,” says Fourie. This all contributes to a culture of respect, where employees respect each other and respect all stakeholders, including clients, and this has helped the company to successfully perform every year.
Barno is a company built on passion and industry-leading expertise. More companies like Barno is exactly what the country needs during these tough economic times. What sets this business apart is its focus on quality and that is something that will not change.
“We can compete on quality, time and price with any company around the world. If people only want small batches, we can do it; if they want large batches, we can do it,” concludes Fourie.