Formed in 1993, Stylo has built a reputation for delivering a diverse range of graphic, signs and display solutions for some of the world’s biggest brands.
Agility and adaptability are key to its success. Stylo’s philosophy is all about creativity, innovation and pushing boundaries. “We don’t like to be limited by anything,” says Simon Wheeler, managing director of Stylo, “This is why we changed our name from Stylographics, because we don’t just do graphics anymore. We do whatever it takes to deliver the solutions our customers are looking for.”
This attitude is reflected in the people who work here. “We want people who are inventive and motivated to learn. When it comes to staff, we are much more interested in attitude than skills. Our office is in the middle of Watford, right by the station, which means we are easy to get to and there are fewer limitations to who we can offer roles to,” he says.
He continues, “Our recruitment policy focuses on hiring young, local talent and nurturing them over many years. We don’t always require extensive experience; the right attitude and a willingness to learn and develop are often more important. By hiring locally, our employees can easily take care of their daily needs, such as getting lunch or running errands. We have considered relocating to an out-of-town industrial estate, but we have never found a place as well-situated as where we are now.”
Now up to 79 staff, Simon is very proud of his team at Stylo, “Building good teams, whether in business or sports, is something I have always done and is what I still most enjoy. Everything else, all the business success, all the diversity of what we do, our customer satisfaction, all comes from the strength and quality of our team.”
Inventive Investments
Stylo also takes a healthy approach to investing in technology and equipment. “Our strategy is to choose the highest-quality kit available to us and then go out there and see what we can do with it. This makes us very hard to compete with because we always feel like we can do anything, and we usually do. We then use this equipment to the absolute max, maintaining it well and as a result, get a good return on our investments.”
One recent purchase was a swissQprint Kudu with neon inks. “When we first saw the guys from swissQprint we didn’t think we were in the market for a new machine. But we quickly saw that it was providing answers to a load of questions we hadn’t asked yet. We were one of the first in the UK to take one of these, so we had to travel to Switzerland to see it in action. What an incredible investment has proven to be.”
“swissQprint is probably the only company that has brought out a truly revolutionary printer in the last few years. Most manufacturers talk about speed, but this isn’t the most important issue for a company like ours that focuses on delivering bespoke solutions. We are looking for equipment that gives us a creative edge. That’s what the Kudu delivers in spades,” he adds.
“Today, our business is not just about going out and getting loads of new clients. It’s also about maintaining the ones we’ve got and looking after them really well. We want to work with customers that can recognise what we can offer, so when we invest in kit which adds a whole new set of capabilities to what we can do, we also open up more possibilities for our customers,” he says.
Creative Applications
Is there anything Stylo won’t do? This text is surrounded by some of the inventive and creative applications carried out by this amazing company.
This has been Stylo’s strategy for many years. Walking around the workshop, you can see the results of shrewd investments still delivering great customer solutions. There are two 3D printers, a big one and a massive one. There is a dye sublimation area for fabrics , flags and other textile applications. There are areas for LED lighting, painting, woodworking , the list goes on and on.
Simon adds, “We encourage and train our staff to learn as much as possible about the equipment we invest in, and then we give them the freedom to be playful and innovative with it. They are so knowledgeable about what the machines can do, it means they are able to apply them to different ideas to give our clients the creative products and experience they are looking for. It also means they can train the next generation coming up behind them.”
We could see this throughout the building. We passed some people taking photos of a 3D-printed human model, a host of items from films and TV, coffee shop displays, and spectacular items representing famous high-street brands. The whole atmosphere was one of creative development and bustling energy.
“This sums us up really,” concludes Simon. “We work with customers that need something special and can’t afford to be let down. They know that we will give them the creativity they crave, but also the quality and reliability that ensures film schedules are kept and high street branding is maintained. It’s high-octane work, but we are good at it. And we love it!”
Read more on Stylo on Eye on Display.
