Printer group looking to expand with new Liverpool office

A North Wales printer business is seeking space for a new office in Liverpool which, it says, could employ up to six staff in the first 12 months of operation.

Wrexham-based Rawson Digital is actively looking at properties in the Fazakerley area of the city and said it hopes to have a new base up and running within weeks.

The company, part of the Rawson Group, headed by Vaughn Rawson, has recruited John Baccino as non-executive director as part of its plans to expand into Liverpool.

John, 57, began work as an apprentice typewriter and copier mechanic with B&M Office Machines, servicing and repairing office equipment at businesses around Merseyside. He later moved into sales and then he and two colleagues took part in a management buyout 20 years ago.

He became managing director, heading the company which tripled its turnover to more than £6m, before selling the business in 2020 to the ASL Group.

By then the business had grown from three staff to 50 with a client list that included not just schools and colleges, such as Liverpool John Moores University and businesses like Rolls Royce and Arriva, but also the Catholic Church in the city.

Vaughn Rawson said: “We have been looking to expand our operations and having an office in Liverpool gives us a base to operate across Merseyside, the Wirral and along the M62 corridor to Manchester.

“Asking John to join us makes perfect sense because we have the same customer-focused attitude to our business, we have a mutual respect and there’s simply no better person to help us expand in that area.”

He added: “He can advise us on where to be based and on recruitment as we will be looking to recruit a complete new team. We both believe in being absolutely customer-focused. The customer is very, very important to us. We believe in contracts that work for them and in return they have supported us.”

John, originally from Kirkby, said: “The most important thing for me as the director of a company is that your biggest asset is your integrity and that’s why this partnership feels right.

“I’ve been on the journey that Rawson Digital are on and I made a lot of mistakes along the way and I aim to help them grow the business and avoid those mistakes.

“I can help them out with information about the Merseyside area, where to base yourself, where to recruit staff and I will sit in on board meetings and help identify opportunities for growth.

“We grew our business from £2m to £6m so we have been on the journey that Rawson want to go on and hopefully we can help them with our knowledge of the region.”

He added: “I’ve known Vaughn Rawson for over 10 years and I know we share the same business ethos and I believe there is a real opportunity for him in the Merseyside area.

“We were very much a family in the way our business was run and the same is true of Rawson Digital and I’m sure I can help him be as successful on Merseyside as he has been in North Wales.”

Rawson Digital was founded by Vaughn Rawson in 2012 on the back of his 35 years’ experience in the business and has since grown to employ more than 30 staff as it has expanded to include renewable energy installation including solar panels and electric vehicle charging points.

The Rawson Group, which sponsors Wrexham Football Club, is based at The Bridge Business Centre, in the heart of Wrexham Industrial Estate.