In an evolving industry where the needs of businesses are changing, Gloucestershire printer expert Elmrep is setting the tone for the future – with a forward-thinking approach and unwavering commitment to doing the best by its customers.
Owned and led by managing director Lee Summers, who started at the company as a 16 year old, the Gloucester-based printer provider and service firm not only continues to be the trusted partner of businesses across the county, but it's also eying expansion – with its most recent foray into cloud printing services proving a success with law firms throughout England, too.
Having enjoyed its most successful period ever in recent years, its growth looks set to continue with a new young leader in its ranks, as 23-year-old Jake Wilkins becomes operations director. SoGlos sits down with Jake to chat about the business, his journey and the future of the print services industry.
Jake, describe the service Elmrep provides to clients.
We primarily provide multi-functional devices – printers, copiers and scanners – and we also offer a managed print service, through which we supply all of the support, toners etcetera.
We have a bespoke system in which the MFPs (multi-functional printers) report issues to us before the end user knows there's a problem – it's our USP and means all that an end user needs to do is add paper to the machine. We have an instructional video on our YouTube channel explaining how our system works.
We also provide 'interactive tables' for care homes, nursing homes, nurseries and corporate settings. It's essentially a 32-inch Android tablet on wheels, which is great for bringing users together.
Ultimately, we are your print partner and will help make your business more efficient with a smile on our faces.
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to join Elmrep.
I grew up in Gloucester and left school in 2018 with no real plan for my next steps. I enjoyed school for the social aspect, but the idea of being in a classroom for any longer than I had to sounded terrible to me! Whilst all of my friends around me went to college and sixth form, it was obvious that work was my only option.
I soon got a job with a local electrical firm, but it only lasted one and a half days as I soon realised it wasn't the route I wanted to go down.
Then, still a spotty teenager, I was offered a job with Elmrep through someone I knew at the time. To be honest, it didn't sound the most exciting prospect, but I thought, what did I have to lose? Initially, I joined on a business admin apprenticeship, doing all of the work on our system; and soon began dealing with customer issues, ensuring they were handled appropriately.
It was a good way to begin to understand the business and get to know the customers, which gave me a platform to progress.
How did you come to be operations director at just 23 years old?
Aged 19 in 2021, I became operations manager and began to install machines and spend more time in person with customers. Then in 2023, I began to help existing customers upgrade their MFP fleet at the end of their lease. I still do all of this as well as dealing with new business, which Lee Summers (owner and managing director) and I share. I'm not a salesman – I don't like that term, my role is much more varied than that.
We deal with numerous doctors' surgeries and supply MFPs to a lot of businesses in the key worker sector, so when Covid hit in 2020, there was very much a need for us to still be working. But as we lost around two thirds of our service revenue overnight, it meant there was still plenty of time to learn new things. I learnt everything I needed to know – or at least that's what I thought at the time, I was very wrong!
I spent time absorbing as much as I could from a tech perspective, as this was of particular interest to me. Our engineers played a massive part in that.
In 2021, Nikki (Budding) joined Elmrep as head of business relations – she pushed me to begin networking and get to know the local community, which was a completely different challenge for me. She became my mentor and polished the rough edges, which helped when it came to things like time management – which I was awful at – dealing with people and also trusting me with bigger decisions within the business.
Between Lee and Nikki, they helped me every step of the way as they had been in my shoes before, they knew exactly what I needed. Nikki left the business in 2025 however, I would like to think that I have carried on what she has taught me and I'm a more well-rounded individual because of her.
We're a team of eight, we get on really well and often do things together out of work. We are just a group of mates and all have a good laugh at work, but still get the job done. We all love coming to work and I think that tells the true story about the environment that we have created.
Elmrep has been serving clients in Gloucestershire for more than 40 years now – what do you think has been the key to the company’s longevity?
Our industry doesn't have the best name and I think that's why we have maintained our customers over the years, because from a sales and service perspective, we have always been transparent and delivered upon what we promise, which is extremely rare to come by.
The majority of our new customers are coming from national suppliers, where they are simply a number and the service is shocking. By switching to Elmrep, they have local support again and when they have an issue, they are talking to the same team every time and can get to know us, which I think a lot of businesses appreciate.
Although it's a bit of a random industry, we are all passionate about it and it shows in our customer service – I always say that I find it difficult to make printers sound exciting, however, hopefully my excitement for it shows!
What does the future hold for Elmrep, in 2025 and beyond?
Although print volumes are dropping, we are continuing to grow, with 2023/24 being our best year ever, 2024/25 matching that and 2025/26 on track to smash it again. We're grateful to see that we have been able to maintain that level – as it was a considerable jump for us – and that there is very much room for growth.
Our aims are to continue to supply MFPs and interactive tables etc. to businesses in Gloucestershire and the surrounding areas. Although we already serve a large number of businesses locally, there are still many that we don't, so the main aim is to continue to grow with customers on our doorstep – keeping service levels as high as possible and delivering fixes within hours, compared to the traditional three-day fixes of national providers.
Most importantly, as everyone is looking to move print into the cloud, we have great cloud printing solutions that we are supplying to numerous law firms across the country, which we are incredibly proud of, as we have essentially achieved the 'impossible'.
This is a huge passion of mine as it shows our 'never give up' attitude and that there is always a way to fix something, it's just how willing you are to try and we're excited to continue to push this side of the business.
