Holden Color’s Rapid Growth Means Relocation
Doug Holden, vice president of the Holden Color printing company, concedes that his firm’s recent rapid growth--including a 40% increase in sales each of the past two years and a doubling of staff--is somewhat surprising.
“The growth is happening quite a bit faster than we thought it would. We wanted to grow, but I don’t know if we wanted to grow this fast,” said Holden, whose brother, Mark, is president of the family-run business.
“We’re taking one step at a time,” he said. “We’re trying not to rush anything.”
Despite attempts at pacing themselves, the Holden brothers have completed a deal to relocate from their 10,000-square-foot printing and office facility in Newbury Park to a 30,000-square-foot operation in Simi Valley.
The move, scheduled for January, will allow the company to install its second multimillion-dollar Heidelberg SpeedMaster, a state-of-the-art German-made printing press, as well as the Galileo system, which allows for the transfer of data directly from computer to printing plate, eliminating the standard filming process.
“We’re just bumping into each other walking down the hallway, and we’ve got equipment waiting for us to put somewhere,” Doug Holden said. “This is a big transition for us. We’ve been [in Newbury Park] for only two years, but it feels like we’ve outgrown it in just the last two months.”
Holden credits increased business among manufacturing and entertainment clients--including Buena Vista Home Video and the ERG International furniture company--for the company’s growth in sales. He said Holden Color will continue to depend heavily on these industries for future growth.
“Most of our business is in Ventura and L. A. County, and we do some stuff in Colorado and Nevada. With the equipment we’re going to be getting, I think we’re going to be able to branch out further than that,” he said. “This is kind of a transitional stage for us. Even though we like it and it’s exciting, it’s tough. Once we get over this [move], we’ll bury our feet in the sand and concentrate on building new business.”
