A Sheffield duo with more than 35 years experience of working in the photocopier industry are now making the most of their vast knowledge, with help from SENTA.

The directors at RED Business Machines Ltd, based at Halfway, Sheffield have been working in the photocopying industry since 1989, and three years ago they decided to set up their own company supplying and servicing digital photocopiers.

RED Business Machines Ltd provides cost effective solutions to companies across the South Yorkshire region in the areas of copying, printing, scanning and faxing. Having met and now exceeded targets in their second year of business, the directors are currently expanding their current workforce to handle the growth in the company.

Director Darren Brookes, 34, from Sheffield, said: “There was little chance of us moving further up the employment ladder, so we decided to make the most of the skills and knowledge that we have acquired over the years.

“The demand for our service is certainly out there, as 99% of businesses use a photocopier. Many companies don’t realise how costly their inkjet and laser printers are and our objective is to look at how a company operates in terms of copying, printing & faxing then provide them with a solution that is faster, of higher quality and much more cost effective.

“As companies grow, they will continue to add more printers to their PC networks, therefore not realising the true cost to run these printers in replacing consumables such as ink cartridges, drums,  and maintenance kits to name but a few.

“Another area we specialise in is the upgrade of photocopiers currently on lease. Together with our finance partners we offer very competitive finance packages which includes the settlement of the clients current lease agreement and the installation of brand new, more cost effective equipment. The new lease figure is often less than they are currently paying and is completed in one simple process. 

“As a company, we also realise the importance of moving forward and keeping up with modern technology, which is why our digital units also include the option of archiving data, which is proving a very attractive prospect for many of our customers who require a machine to provide fast, easy to use scanning, at the touch of a button.

“The locality of the business is one of our strong points, as we are based and only deal in South Yorkshire and the surrounding areas. This means we can provide the rapid service support our clients require with very fast response times together with our wide range of parts and supplies.

“The business is going from strength to strength, but the staff at SENTA have also been integral to the early success of our company.

“SENTA have been absolutely fantastic to us from day one. As a new business, we needed support, contacts and business knowledge, and SENTA certainly offered that, which was very reassuring.

“In partnership with SENTA, we created budgets and targets for the company, which we met in the first year and surpassed in the second year, which is just superb.

“SENTA have helped us with promotional support, financial advice and helped us build on a solid foundation without owing money to anybody.”

SENTA Enterprise Agency (SENTA) is part of the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and provides fully integrated support to new business start-ups ad businesses up to two years old.

Its start-up programme is funded by Yorkshire Forward under contract with Business Link South Yorkshire.

SENTA head of enterprise Mandip Dosanjh said: “The team at RED Business Machines Ltd are a great example for new businesses. They were smart enough to realise that although they were dedicated and knew the photocopier business inside out, they would need support in setting the business up.

“The directors at RED Business Machines have taken full advantage of the service we provide at SENTA and their business is now thriving, which is very pleasing, and long may it continue.”