Following His Gut Instincts
Lars Martinsen knows all about economic crises and how to deal
with them. When a major customer relocated all its print jobs to
East Asia practically overnight, the managing partner of Moltzau
lost no time in drawing up a new business model. Thanks to its new
machinery and a handpicked team of experts, the small print shop on
the outskirts of Oslo is now one of the leading packaging printers
in Norway.
Great stories usually involve people who've taken a hit in life, those who've fought back determinedly against the hand of fate, or good souls who win against all the odds. This is one such story. A story about a small print shop by the name of Moltzau Plasttrykk AS in Norway. It starts in Oslo or, to be more exact, in Moltzau's conference room. On the table stands a coffee pot and two trays containing bread, reindeer meat, salmon, scrambled eggs, salad and pieces of fruit. The door opens and a young man wearing a pullover and washed-out jeans comes in, smiles at those already present, and says: "Hi, I'm Lars."
Lars is 38 years old and his full name is Lars Christian Martinsen. But last names are not important at Moltzau. Everyone calls each other by their first names: Liese, Christin, Kenneth, Terje, Øystein and, of course, Lars. Lars is managing director of the print shop which was founded in 1892. And, holding 34 percent of the shares, he is also the business' biggest shareholder. More importantly, Lars is the man who breathed new life into Moltzau when the company was on the brink of collapse as a result of a major customer deciding to relocate its print orders to Asia in order to cut costs. The machinery essentially ground to a halt overnight, because this customer was not just Moltzau's No. 1 customer, it was its only one.
Follow your gut instinct. Of course, entrepreneurs with just one customer are aware of the risks, but one customer is better than none at all. And Lars has his own philosophy for dealing with risks: "I rely on this," he says, patting his stomach. That was also the case in 1998. Back then, the Norwegian print market was in the midst of a serious crisis and few print shops were earning money. Moltzau, in fact, was earning no money at all. When a customer finally came knocking, the managing director did not hesitate long. He invested a sum equivalent to 203,498 dollars (150,000 euros) in new equipment to print and punch adhesive labels for plastic toothbrush packaging. "As the preparations for the new print job were underway, everyone was telling us we'd be bankrupt by next Easter, because the undertaking was far too risky," recalls Lars. "Nevertheless, we went with the flow and ended up earning a lot of money. We had a few really successful years."
The decline set in at the start of 2004. Moltzau was able to win a few smaller customers when the production was relocated, but business was bad. Due to the high labor costs and prices in Norway, more and more customers were starting to turn to lower-cost providers in other countries. What's more, the Internet was starting to have an increasingly negative impact on the print market. And Moltzau was troubled by another problem: "We were taking on all sorts of jobs at this stage - smaller newspapers and magazines, flyers, printing on plastic - but that was precisely the root of our difficulties. We had no identity and were therefore practically invisible to potential new customers," explains Lars.
Great stories usually involve people who've taken a hit in life, those who've fought back determinedly against the hand of fate, or good souls who win against all the odds. This is one such story. A story about a small print shop by the name of Moltzau Plasttrykk AS in Norway. It starts in Oslo or, to be more exact, in Moltzau's conference room. On the table stands a coffee pot and two trays containing bread, reindeer meat, salmon, scrambled eggs, salad and pieces of fruit. The door opens and a young man wearing a pullover and washed-out jeans comes in, smiles at those already present, and says: "Hi, I'm Lars."
Lars is 38 years old and his full name is Lars Christian Martinsen. But last names are not important at Moltzau. Everyone calls each other by their first names: Liese, Christin, Kenneth, Terje, Øystein and, of course, Lars. Lars is managing director of the print shop which was founded in 1892. And, holding 34 percent of the shares, he is also the business' biggest shareholder. More importantly, Lars is the man who breathed new life into Moltzau when the company was on the brink of collapse as a result of a major customer deciding to relocate its print orders to Asia in order to cut costs. The machinery essentially ground to a halt overnight, because this customer was not just Moltzau's No. 1 customer, it was its only one.
Follow your gut instinct. Of course, entrepreneurs with just one customer are aware of the risks, but one customer is better than none at all. And Lars has his own philosophy for dealing with risks: "I rely on this," he says, patting his stomach. That was also the case in 1998. Back then, the Norwegian print market was in the midst of a serious crisis and few print shops were earning money. Moltzau, in fact, was earning no money at all. When a customer finally came knocking, the managing director did not hesitate long. He invested a sum equivalent to 203,498 dollars (150,000 euros) in new equipment to print and punch adhesive labels for plastic toothbrush packaging. "As the preparations for the new print job were underway, everyone was telling us we'd be bankrupt by next Easter, because the undertaking was far too risky," recalls Lars. "Nevertheless, we went with the flow and ended up earning a lot of money. We had a few really successful years."
The decline set in at the start of 2004. Moltzau was able to win a few smaller customers when the production was relocated, but business was bad. Due to the high labor costs and prices in Norway, more and more customers were starting to turn to lower-cost providers in other countries. What's more, the Internet was starting to have an increasingly negative impact on the print market. And Moltzau was troubled by another problem: "We were taking on all sorts of jobs at this stage - smaller newspapers and magazines, flyers, printing on plastic - but that was precisely the root of our difficulties. We had no identity and were therefore practically invisible to potential new customers," explains Lars.
You will find the complete article in Heidelberg News issue 269.
Please use the pdf download on the top right-hand side.
Please use the pdf download on the top right-hand side.
