David Martínez López, managing director of Forletter S.A., 51 years old, belongs to the second generation of the family business. In 1968 the company was founded by David’s parents and was named Gráficas Fanny. A small commercial printing company with typographic printing equipment and a single-unit offset machine. When the printing company passed on to the family’s next generation, its name was changed to Forletter S.A.
“Initially, with two 70x100 and 50x70 machines, the company was very much oriented towards commercial printing, especially magazines, with up to seventeen headlines a week, and lots of commercial campaign marketing. The crisis of 2008-2009 brought down the publishing side of the business and large print runs dried up.”
After a few really challenging years, a turnaround was made in 2014 with a new investment to seek out other options. When we got in touch with Komori in Spain, OMC’s director Enrique Rodríguez took us to look at machines in operation and I was able to see H-UV printing, a technology new to the market back then.
“The H-UV technology resolved all of the issues we had with commercial printing since there is no mottling or scratches due to drying,” David explains.
The first Komori machine started operating at Forletter’s workshops in September 2015. It was at that point that David made a bold decision. Although this was a hybrid press, which can work with both oil-based and H-UV inks, it will not be used with oil-based inks and will always print in H-UV. This decision greatly simplifies press maintenance and cleaning.
This change of technology entailed the company losing a high volume of work; for example, almost all the remaining magazines. “However, we decided to hang on and to focus on the high-end products, whether graphic or arts related, and we gradually moved into luxury packaging.” explains David. “By working on high quality prints, smaller print runs and better margins, we have more time to prepare the press for each job.
The first Komori H-UV machine was with Forletter for nearly six years and was replaced in 2023 with the H-UV, KOMORI ADVANCE GL640A + C Advance, with six units. This set-up means the majority of the jobs are printed in a single pass through the machine. Plus, the results of 2023 are clear: we had the same year as 2022 in terms of sales volume however almost 40% fewer impressions.
With the previous machine, every job involved two or three passes through the machine. Now, jobs with two passes are rare. That means fewer costs and less maintenance of equipment, and a lot more hours available to do new jobs.
“In cartons, we are targeting customers in the luxury sector, mainly in Spain and France. The H-UV press allows a quality level that makes it ideal for very demanding colour jobs. Since we don’t work with high-volume jobs, we have the time we need for tests and adjustments.”
Another strategic – and bold – decision Forletter made this year is getting rid of all the peripherals, die-cutters and folding machines, everything... “We just print. There is no process in the factory waiting after printing,” says David. We only print highly complex specialities.”
The thing I like most about my job is being able to make decisions with complete freedom. I think that's the greatest reward a director or business owner can have.
Team at Forletter
Deciding in which path to take at any time, having the first idea or the final word. It’s really rewarding. Being able to influence others, people and projects, in creating value, with your decisions. Working out that there's an opportunity in the market and having nobody holding you back.The freedom to decide which direction to take the business project in.” For the next few years, the company's projects will be family-based. They involve developing business continuity of family-led governance, sustainably and profitably.
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