Meet the Expert: Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin has just completed the Close Brothers Asset Finance Sales Academy and has joined our print division. Here he shares his experiences and talks about what print equipment is currently most in demand
Tell us a bit about your work history...
I did a degree in product design with a specialty in my final year focusing on solar energy storage for residential properties. After leaving university I joined a graduate scheme working for Pendragon where I was selling cars. I was also helping to change the way the sales teams sold cars, in particular electric cars.
During my time with Pendragon, I worked at Vauxhall, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW. The scheme was later disbanded due to COVID, so I began to look for a new opportunity to challenge myself further.
What aspects of the Close Brothers Sales Academy have you found the most valuable?
The Mentorship from previous members of the academy has been incredible, as has the support and interactions with the CEOs and senior leadership teams. It makes you feel empowered to ask questions and present your ideas. The training from and exposure to very inspirational people and successful people within the business and outside companies to impart knowledge and experience has been very valuable.
What machinery/equipment are you finding is currently most in demand?
Currently we are finding a shift towards packaging and digital equipment as people look to diversify and develop their offering. The need for either very high-quality lower volume offerings, such as packing which would involve folding and gluing systems as well as flexographic presses rather than lithography, allowing companies to print on different substrates such as films.
The biggest push though is the ability we have to refinance equipment and release capital to help clear headroom in a company's cash flow to purchase stock in bulk at a lower cost. This helps to beat the squeeze in the supply chain or restructure multiple agreements to lower monthly outgoings.
What do you think 2022 holds for the Print Industry?
It will be a period of huge change. There has been a lot of mergers and acquisitions, people joining forces to be able to take on a broader range of projects and offer more capacity. With an increase in raw material prices and long lead times on new equipment, making the most of existing assets will be key to growing into a less COVID-effected period in the print world.
