Thriving in Challenging Markets

Is it possible for label and package printers to not only survive but thrive in challenging markets? Catapult Print has done just that.

The Orlando, Florida, printer with U.K. roots started 2025 by announcing extraordinary profits and strong double-digit growth. Catapult Print reported $60 million in sales with two consecutive months of record sales in Q4, adding more than 80 customers and maintaining a customer retention rate of 98%. Much of that growth can be attributed to a unique business model that emphasizes simplicity in the supply chain, leveraging innovation to proactively create manufacturing capacity, leaning into technology and automation to deliver value, and developing a business culture that embraces automation.

Simplicity Builds Stronger Relationships

“We don’t do multi-suppliers,” Lewis Cook, co-founder and CEO at Catapult Print, explains. “We have one backing tape. We have one plate. We have one press; every single one of our presses is the latest Nilpeter FA. We have eliminated as much variability as possible.”

By reducing the number of suppliers, equipment, and components, Catapult Print has not only removed complexity throughout all of its printing and converting processes. It has also been able to build stronger relationships with its suppliers.

Cook adds this simplicity “allows us to lean on our suppliers. For instance, take our relationship with Nilpeter — they have one elite tech spending one week every month in our facility to ensure all the machines are operating the way we want.”

The collaborative relationship facilitates the sharing of best practices and industry knowledge between the two companies and fosters a sense of shared ownership over outcomes. This drives continuous improvement for both the converter and its supplier-partner.

Capacity Ensures Customer Satisfaction, Growth

Investing in excess capacity might seem counterintuitive, but Catapult Print has found it to be a game changer. “We can’t be behind the curve and wait for the sales to hit,” Cook says. “We put machines in way ahead of time.”

He argues that investing in equipment before demand helps sustain continuous growth for bespoke manufacturing companies. It builds agility in Catapult Print’s operations that enables the converter to take on new work and definitively know that work can be done on time, affordably, and quickly. This strategic foresight also helps Catapult Print retain customers, and the approach cultivates customer trust and loyalty as customers appreciate the converter’s reliability.

Personalized Tech for Employees Builds Agility, Efficiencies

Catapult Print is continuously gathering and deploying data from equipment across all departments. Cook emphasizes the live nature of the data and the deployment part of the process: “We have probably 300 screens around our business of live data. Everyone has a personalized dashboard that will show them all the live information for the metrics impacting that person’s work. Their screen has their workflow on there.”

Furthermore, employees are receiving live data that’s automatically updated for them that enables each team member to swiftly and efficiently adapt to changes. Cook insists Catapult Print’s employees are eager to use technology, whether it’s live data or automation, because they see technology as an ally. “Our staff isn’t fearful of technology,” he explains, “because we utilize technology to make their jobs easier. What we’re not doing is trying to take a pressman’s job away. Our employees know we are trying to simplify lots of the components of their jobs so that pressman’s job is easier and they are more successful.”

Seeking Outside Talent to Create a Unique Business Culture

Catapult Print has built a culture that embraces change, fosters a thirst for continuous improvement, and empowers teams to deliver quality printed products quickly and efficiently. This culture didn’t develop by happenstance.

“From day one, we’ve built a different business and did it differently,” Cook explains. “From a senior leadership perspective, we purposely didn’t really take anyone from print. I very much wanted new thinking, new perspectives. … So, I think it’s in our culture and the blood of every employee who works here.”

Hiring from outside the printing industry has enabled Catapult Print to inject fresh ideas from other industries, including other manufacturing industries. This, Cook says, is helping position the converter for future success. In 2025, Catapult Print has set its sights on reaching a turnover of $70 million.