Direct marketing, variable print and bulk mail processing specialist LaserCom, a division of Bytes Technology Group, is moving its head office to industrial hub Amalgam in Johannesburg.

The company’s PaperGeni envelope and tally roll division will now be under the same roof.

“LaserCom has experienced phenomenal growth over the past six years and has more than doubled its size,” says Konni Hoferichter, divisional MD at LaserCom. “In addition to the fact that we have simply run out of space at our existing locations, the move will enable us to increase operational efficiencies by having all our employees and divisions housed in one building.”

The new headquarters, which will accommodate 300 employees, measure 13 500m2. They are strategically located close to Witspos, which handles the bulk of South Africa’s mail.

“It makes business sense for us to be in the vicinity of Witspos, and it also means that we will be able to significantly reduce our carbon emissions through reduced transport distances, which is a major consideration for the company. As part of the Bytes group, we are committed to reducing  our carbon footprint.” To that end the new building incorporates many energy-saving features.

In terms of operational efficiencies, Hoferichter notes that the move will put an end to duplication of resources, eliminate the need for costly transport between premises, and streamline communications across the company.

“Because the premises are large enough to accommodate growth well into the future, we will be able to take on many more large accounts without having to worry about having the necessary resources.

“In addition, by having everyone under the same roof, we will be able to offer enhanced benefits to our staff, such as a full-service canteen.”
The move is under way and will be completed by the end of August. There will be no disruptions to LaserCom’s business.

Direct marketing, variable print and mail processing specialist LaserCom, a division of Bytes Technology Group, has been rated as a Level 2 (AAA) Contributor and Value-Adding Supplier according to the BB-BEE Codes of Good Practice by accredited verification agency Empowerdex. This is the second year running that the company has achieved the rating.
In 2009, the rating was awarded to LaserCom after a surge in compliance with the DTI’s Codes of Good Practice, and the company moved from an overall score of 68,6% to 91,02%. The latest rating gives LaserCom an overall score of 96,86%, an increase of 5,8%.
“BEE is not about just about compliance,” says Gene Pillay, the manager tasked with coordinating LaserCom’s BBBEE efforts. “It’s about enlightened business practices and a commitment to making a difference in the broader community in which we operate.
“The score entitles LaserCom clients to claim 156% of the value spent with the company as BEE procurement due to the value add component. This is an excellent incentive for our customers as none of our competitors has a comparable BBBEE rating, so this gives us a significant competitive advantage over them.”
In the last 12 months, LaserCom achieved the following:

• It scored 22,83 points out of a possible 20 for ownership. This is because Bytes Technology Group, which is 27% owned by broad-based empowerment group Kagiso, received the additional three points above 20 as a result of various bonus points awarded to Kagiso.
• It maintained its training and skills development, scoring the maximum 15 points.
• It enhanced employment equity to 13,35 out of a potential 15 points.
• It scored 19,45 out of a possible 20 points for preferential procurement.
• It scored a maximum 15 points for enterprise development, and a maximum five for socio-economic development.

“The endorsement from Empowerdex affirms LaserCom’s holistic approach to transformation as indicated by each of the individual scores we achieved,” says Pillay.

LaserCom is the national leader in its space, with operations in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, it fulfils the postal requirements of most banks, telcos, and many other blue-chip organisations. It produces more than 30 million pages a month, and recently launched South Africa’s first transpromo (transactional/promotional) service.

Konni Hoferichter has been appointed as MD of LaserCom, a company in the Bytes Document Solutions group. Formerly divisional manager, Hoferichter is promoted to MD as part of Bytes Document Solutions’ overall restructuring.

The group has undergone a strategic makeover, creating three self-standing entities in the Xerox business, NOR Paper and LaserCom, South Africa’s leading provider of mail bureau and electronic print services. This has been done so as to ensure the group retains its position of market leadership and empowers group companies to sustain and boost growth.

Hoferichter has spent 38 years in the document production/management business. He has managed LaserCom, formerly Laser Facilities, for the last nine years. In this time the company has grown by over 600% and most recently it entered the transpromo market, where it is uniquely positioned to deliver the appropriate services. The company prints more than 30 million pages a month for its client base.

Issued by: Predictive Communications
[Johannesburg, 22 July 2009] -

LaserCom, South Africa’s leading direct marketing, variable print, mail processing and envelope manufacturing specialist, has been rated a Level 2 Contributor and Value-Adding Supplier by Empowerdex. The rating was awarded after a surge in compliance with the DTI’s Codes of Good Practice, with LaserCom and PaperGeni moving from 68.6% to 91.02%. LaserCom and PaperGeni were formerly Level 4 Contributors.

The company’s rating means that its customers can claim R1.5625 for every rand spent with LaserCom and PaperGeni as affirmative procurement.

“This is a terrific incentive for our existing and potential customers,” says Owen Jacobs, the manager tasked with co-ordinating LaserCom’s and PaperGeni’s BEE efforts. “None of our competitors has a comparable BEE rating, so this gives us a significant competitive edge.

“It has been a gratifying year for LaserCom and PaperGeni. We have made huge progress towards our targets, and are proud to be contributing to the Altron Group’s Vision 2012.”

In the last 12 months, LaserCom and PaperGeni achieved the following:

• It improved its training and skills development, to the extent that it scored a maximum 15 points.
• It boosted management control to 6.75 out of 10 points.
• It enhanced employment equity to 12.42 out of a potential 15 points.
• It registered 18.25 out of a possible 20 points for preferential procurement.
• It registered a maximum 15 points for enterprise development, and a maximum five for corporate CSI.

“Our main achievement in terms of enterprise development was assisting a black-owned company to set up a canteen for our staff,” notes Jacobs. “With CSI, our major achievement was a significant donation of cash to Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth.”

LaserCom

LaserCom, formerly Laser Facilities, is the national leader in its space. With operations in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, it fulfils the printing and postal requirements of most telcos, and many other blue-chip organisations. It produces more than 30 million pages a month, and recently launched South Africa’s first transpromo (transactional/promotional) service.

Editorial contacts

LaserCom
Denise Paton
(011) 699 8300
dpaton@lasercom.co.za

Predictive Communications
Frank Heydenrych
(011) 452 2923
frank@predictive.co.za

Issued by: Predictive Communications

LaserCom, a division of Bytes Technology Group, has upgraded its KwaZulu-Natal branch infrastructure with a capital investment of R6 million.

The investment for the digital printing and mailing services company, which caters for blue-chip and other businesses across industry sectors, as well as local government, centres on two high-speed Xerox printers, one of which is a continuous feed duplex printer, to meet the growing needs of customers in the region.

The installations are specifically to service two large customers, one of which has been a client for 18 years, as well as increase capacity to cater for growing demand.

Existing clients include African Bank, Nedbank’s national Personal Loans division, SA Home Loans, Unilever’s payroll, all the regional universities and

technikons, and almost 30 municipalities with the biggest being the city of Pietermaritzburg, iTalk Cellular, and al Baraka Bank, among others.

Mac Moodley, GM of LaserCom’s KwaZulu-Natal branch, estimates that LaserCom KwaZulu-Natal has secured 80% of the business to be had in the region and contributes 20% of LaserCom’s total national revenue. “We have a long history in the region and a very loyal customer base,” says Moodley.

The new machine prints at speeds up to 500ipm at two-up duplex, offers better image quality with resolutions of 600dpi, a small footprint for machines of its class, prints on a wide variety of substrates and improves general quality and speed through flash-fusing technology, which reduces paper heat and shrinkage while printing, and retains paper moisture because high-intensity flash lamps heat the toner. Flash fusing technology also extends the variety of substrates the machine can handle – including plastic card and labels – because the toner is fixed without the fuser touching the paper.

“It’s a state-of-the-art machine,” says Moodley, “with a cutter and folder capable of handling a wide variety of paper types.”

LaserCom may roll out additional services on the back of the new equipment to other clients in the region based on their current and future needs.

Editorial contacts
LaserCom
Mac Moodley
(031) 579 9100
mmoodley@lasercom.co.za

Predictive Communications
Frank Heydenrych
(011) 452 2923
frank@predictive.co.za

We are pleased to advise our customers and suppliers that Empowerdex, an authorised South African economic empowerment-rating agency has recognised LaserCom & PaperGeni as a Level Two Contributor as defined by the Department of Trade & Industry’s Codes of Good Practice.
Our AAA with value-add BBBEE rating allows our customers to claim 156.25% of their spend as Affirmative Procurement

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our suppliers for their support in assisting us in reaching this milestone which has been achieved well ahead of plan.

Issued by: Predictive Communications

Bytes Technology Group company LaserCom, South Africa’s leading mail bureau, and 5th Dimension, the country’s leading provider of data analytics services, have joined forces to bring transpromo to the South African market.

Transpromo stands for transactional promotional, which is the practice of including marketing or promotional items in existing customer communication items, such as monthly statements and invoices.

Transpromo has proven to be one of the most popular new forms of marketing and media in the US, as it generates record response levels at a relatively low incremental cost.

“The success of transpromo depends on two factors,” says Konni Hoferichter, MD of LaserCom. “On the one hand you need a high-speed, colour-capable printing infrastructure, which we have. By way of example, we print 30 million pages a month on behalf of our clients.

“On the other you need the ability to take large amounts of customer data and segment that according to observed and anticipated behaviour and preferences. Once you can segment your customer base appropriately, you can devise and design highly customised, even personalised, one-to-one communications with existing customers based on their existing and potential value and observed propensity to respond.”

Current direct marketing techniques produce returns averaging between .2 and 1%. Transpromo has been known to produce yields as high as 2.64%, which, considering the low additional cost, makes it an attractive medium.

“We have years’ experience creating and implementing successful direct marketing campaigns,” says Keith Wiser, MD of 5th Dimension. “Our motto is customer value management and our track record is that we always exceed by income any investment a client makes in our work.

“Working with our international partners such as Cartesian in India, we mine vast amounts of customer data to segment customers by their historic, current and potential value. We then find commonalities and indicators, which show a customer is likely to respond to a particular offer, or has reached a particular point in his life where he might respond to cross- or up-sell suggestions. Based on the segmented groups, highly focused and targeted communications can be drawn up, and then the appropriate promotion included in the monthly customer communication.”

5th Dimension’s clients include Avis, Clientele Life, Estee Lauder, Mr Delivery, MGM, Nestle, Sun International and Unilever.

LaserCom and 5th Dimension have identified their first mutual clients and are working to get their first projects into production.

Editorial contacts
LaserCom
Denise Paton
(011) 699 8319
dpaton@lasercom.co.za

Predictive Communications
Frank Heydenrych
(082) 550 2797
frank@predictive.co.za