50th Anniversary
for Ronlen Fine Print
Anyone who has owned or run a company will know that achieving fifty years in business is no small feat. As a small
business owner, even five years can seem like a lifetime. Ronlen Fine Print celebrated its 50th anniversary in May.
T
he GAPP Magazine decided to join in the celebrations with a GAPP
Invasion. The aim was two-fold, to celebrate the momentous occasion
and to find out more about this small but growing company
in Edenvale.
Ronlen was founded in Jeppe on 18 May 1964 by two brothers, a printer and
a pharmacist. For a number of years the company did what most printers of
the time did, namely jobbing work. Invoice books, statement and receipt books
and various other items of single-colour work formed the backbone of the
company’s throughput. The company was sold and the new owners continued
very much in the same vein. The company changed hands again in 1997.
Then fifteen years ago, in 1999, a new owner, Clayton Thomas decided to
make a go of the small and struggling company. This leap of faith gave Ronlen
the injection it desperately needed and the growth has been something to
behold. The purchase of the company also presented a possible future for
Clayton’s two sons, both of whom were in their teens at the time. When
Clayton first invested in the company as much as 90 percent of the total
turnover came from jobbing work and was produced by just six staff. Now
the company has 35 full-time staff and is literally bursting at the seams.
Despite constant expansion of the existing premises, Ronlen has once
again run out of space.
Vol 4 Issue 3 • 50TH ANNIVERSARY FOR RONLEN FINE PRINT
Lewton and Clayton Thomas of Ronlen Fine Print with the cake supplied by The GAPP Magazine to celebrate the occasion.
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The GAPP
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