The organisers recognised the achievement that the Meakins have made in taking over two Kall Kwiks and turning them into thriving design and print businesses, delivering a high quality offering to their clients. The couple took over two Kall Kwik businesses in Brighton (December 1998) and Crawley (March 2002), despite having no previous experience in the industry.

To reach the finals of the SME of the Year category, they transformed the Brighton and Crawley Kall Kwiks into the network's second and twentieth largest operations with a combined turnover of virtually £2 million in 2004/5.

Achieving this accolade has highlighted the huge investment that the Meakins made in both people and technology. They re-equipped both businesses and retrained and motivated the 11 members of staff they took on. Due to growth, they have also employed 14 new members of staff and both Kall Kwiks have been awarded Investors in People status. The couple are delighted to be formally recognised for working successfully across their business.

'We're thrilled to have been included in a category with the best of the best,' says Peter Meakin. 'We have been able to create a client-focused business, which has really paid off in repeat business and word of mouth recommendations. It was a huge change for us, but by working within the Kall Kwik network, we've been able to ensure we had all the fundamental business processes in place, and have built from there.'

Further praise comes from Mike Hutter, Managing Director, Kall Kwik UK. 'Peter and Kerrie epitomise the kind of people who have helped to expand the network's expertise in design and print,' he says. 'The beauty of our business is that we are constantly welcoming new talent. Peter and Kerrie joined us with lots of enthusiasm and business acumen. We provided a proven framework in which to succeed - and succeed they certainly have!'

The Meakins have clearly mastered the art of customer service, as 24% of their growth in turnover has come from their existing client base, and they keep in regular contact with over 250 clients.

Far from resting on their laurels, the couple are expecting even greater things in the next twelve months. They are actively pursuing the Kall Kwik vision of offering D2D, which is the full range of print communications based services described as design to deliveryTM. They have also recently acquired Kall Kwik Worthing, where they intend to repeat their successful formula.

Published: 26 October 2005

Back to news