Under high pressure
As head of Multicolor Print in Baar, Anton Schaller has increased revenue, bucking the industry trend.
As head of Multicolor Print in Baar, Anton Schaller has bucked the industry trend and increased sales. "Visions without action are daydreams. Actions without visions are nightmares." Food for thought like this, from Brecht to Valentin, can be found in a new book about Circus Monti. In other words, the artful photo book is actually an advertisement for Multicolor Print AG in Baar. "A circus has a surprising number of parallels with our printing company," explains Anton Schaller. Both companies are characterized by people who "have turned their passion into a profession and have extraordinary qualities". When artists present their skills in the circus ring with playful ease, spectators are all too likely to forget how much work is behind this performance. "Back-breaking work", Schaller calls it, because you can't see what goes on behind the scenes. "Just the beautiful print at the end. The razor-sharp images, the artful-looking catalog."
Schaller never wanted to be a circus director. Since the beginning of 2000
But every day he successfully performs high-wire acts, juggling, magic and occasionally dressage exercises at Multicolor Print.
Schaller completed an apprenticeship as an offset printer. He later worked in Australia for four years, most recently in a print shop for Rupert Murdoch. "I didn't always want to just talk about such dreams," he says proudly of this time. He explains why he didn't stay forever with his further training at the Techniker Schule in Zurich. "You can get ahead with this kind of training, otherwise you have to start all over again." His path led him to the Union Printing House in Lucerne, where he worked as Managing Director for 15 years before the opportunity with Multicolor opened up.
As an important pillar of LZ Medien, Multicolor Print is successful in a difficult market. Sales increased by 18.2 percent last year. Cash flow is even in double figures. The order backlog in the first quarter is already higher than in the previous year.
Central Switzerland has the highest density of print shops. In this competitive environment, more and more companies have had to upgrade from eight- to ten-color presses. "We're used to the competition, now it's simply one level higher," Schaller comments on the situation. For him, the concentration also has something good: "Central Switzerland is becoming a metropolis in the printing industry."
Although Multicolor Print was founded in 1987, it was created in its current form in 1999 from a merger of the companies Kündig Druck in Zug, Maihof Druck and Räber Druck. Today, the company is part of LZ Medien, publisher of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, among others. A total of 108 "print artists" print 2600 tons of paper per year. With 43 million sheets, "not much is missing and we could cover an area as large as the whole of Lake Zug".
Multicolor specializes in printed advertising materials, catalogs and magazines, some of which are published by its own LZ Fachverlag publishing house, such as Der Schweizer Optiker and Pack Aktuell.
Schaller sees intensive project support from data transfer to printing as one of his company's strengths. "Many people have the same machines. But you can offer more through consulting." Until the image processing data can be transferred one-to-one to the printing press, you have to "always stay in contact with the customer" for coordination purposes. To this end, sales consulting is to be further expanded.
Last year, Multicolor Print invested 7 million Swiss francs in conversions and developments. A large sum for a company with a turnover of 25 million. "Money well spent," says Schaller, who also wants to improve prepress next.
Anton Schaller gets in shape for his job by cycling. He covers 6000 kilometers a year on his racing bike, preferably on mountain passes. This year he also wants to do the Dolomites Marathon. Eight hours in the saddle. But if you have to prove yourself in a circus every day, you will also have enough training for this challenge.
"Don't just talk about dreams": Anton Schaller, Director Multicolor Print.
Andreas Panzeri
Schaller never wanted to be a circus director. Since the beginning of 2000
But every day he successfully performs high-wire acts, juggling, magic and occasionally dressage exercises at Multicolor Print.
Schaller completed an apprenticeship as an offset printer. He later worked in Australia for four years, most recently in a print shop for Rupert Murdoch. "I didn't always want to just talk about such dreams," he says proudly of this time. He explains why he didn't stay forever with his further training at the Techniker Schule in Zurich. "You can get ahead with this kind of training, otherwise you have to start all over again." His path led him to the Union Printing House in Lucerne, where he worked as Managing Director for 15 years before the opportunity with Multicolor opened up.
As an important pillar of LZ Medien, Multicolor Print is successful in a difficult market. Sales increased by 18.2 percent last year. Cash flow is even in double figures. The order backlog in the first quarter is already higher than in the previous year.
Central Switzerland has the highest density of print shops. In this competitive environment, more and more companies have had to upgrade from eight- to ten-color presses. "We're used to the competition, now it's simply one level higher," Schaller comments on the situation. For him, the concentration also has something good: "Central Switzerland is becoming a metropolis in the printing industry."
Although Multicolor Print was founded in 1987, it was created in its current form in 1999 from a merger of the companies Kündig Druck in Zug, Maihof Druck and Räber Druck. Today, the company is part of LZ Medien, publisher of the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, among others. A total of 108 "print artists" print 2600 tons of paper per year. With 43 million sheets, "not much is missing and we could cover an area as large as the whole of Lake Zug".
Multicolor specializes in printed advertising materials, catalogs and magazines, some of which are published by its own LZ Fachverlag publishing house, such as Der Schweizer Optiker and Pack Aktuell.
Schaller sees intensive project support from data transfer to printing as one of his company's strengths. "Many people have the same machines. But you can offer more through consulting." Until the image processing data can be transferred one-to-one to the printing press, you have to "always stay in contact with the customer" for coordination purposes. To this end, sales consulting is to be further expanded.
Last year, Multicolor Print invested 7 million Swiss francs in conversions and developments. A large sum for a company with a turnover of 25 million. "Money well spent," says Schaller, who also wants to improve prepress next.
Anton Schaller gets in shape for his job by cycling. He covers 6000 kilometers a year on his racing bike, preferably on mountain passes. This year he also wants to do the Dolomites Marathon. Eight hours in the saddle. But if you have to prove yourself in a circus every day, you will also have enough training for this challenge.
"Don't just talk about dreams": Anton Schaller, Director Multicolor Print.
Andreas Panzeri
