Woodbank Office Solutions: Humble Beginnings, Bright Future

Founded in 1989, Woodbank Office Solutions celebrated 35 years in business last year. The Stockport headquartered company has risen from a side project of its founder, Janet Bowden, to a 13-strong team with regional offices in Liverpool and Leeds. The company is still growing now, with 28% growth achieved in 2024 and 34% growth forecast for 2025.

Woodbank offers managed print services and document management solutions from companies including Konica Minolta, Sharp, and Kyocera. It has risen to become the leading provider of Sharp and Konica Minolta in North West England. Customers come to Woodbank looking for ways to reduce print costs and waste, while increasing versatility and flexibility. As print equipment has evolved to become more reliable, complex, and digitally secure, Woodbank’s offerings have kept up.

But where did the company start, and how did it develop? We do a deep dive on the company and its founder to find out more.

From Caterer to Company Owner

Woodbank’s founder and managing director, Janet Bowden, didn’t begin her career in print, coming from self-proclaimed humble beginnings. In fact, she was first sent to catering college as a young woman by her mother. After not enjoying catering work, she managed to talk her way into becoming an underwriter at Rothschild Bank, moving on to repossessing and selling photocopiers for the company. As Bowden puts it: “Obviously I faked all my qualifications”.

The work for Rothschild sparked the idea in Bowden’s head to start selling her own photocopiers and printers, initially as a side hustle, which is where the Woodbank concept began. The name Woodbank simply came from the area she lived in at the time.

One of the first companies Bowden approached was Minolta (now Konica Minolta). According to her, the manufacturer initially ignored her requests to partner, but she persevered. “Well, I wasn’t going to give up,” she says when reminiscing on those early days.

I wanted to be the Waitrose of the copier world

“I wanted to be the Waitrose of the copier world, and I didn’t want any other equipment than Minolta,” she remembers. Konica Minolta are still a major partner of the company today, with Woodbank offering a range of its solutions including its Bizhub 551i and Bizhub C4001i machines.

Bowden’s passion is still clear today – “No day or week is ever the same”, she says. “It’s what keeps this business so interesting and exciting. We all still feel the excitement of welcoming a new customer to our business and the pride of looking after customers who have been with us for many, many years.”

Solutions that Stand Out

When asked about what sets Woodbank apart, Bowden is quick to highlight the company’s consistency, both in the delivery of its solutions and the staff at the company. Pride in the work and an enjoyment of its variety are also important, both to Bowden and the wider company. As she puts it: “We all still feel the excitement of welcoming a new customer to our business and the pride of looking after customers who have been with us for many, many years.”

Woodbank’s current team of 13 includes engineers, in-house customer service operatives, and dedicated regional account managers. The majority of the team have worked at the company for over ten years, with many having been at the company for over 20. “Their experience and knowledge makes the difference at Woodbank,” Bowden asserts.

The company is also still in its original four-story building in Stockport, which acts as a head office and hub for meetings and visitors while supporting the regional offices in Liverpool and Leeds.
According to Bowden, while the company has grown over the years, its values have remained. She comments: “Our values and ethos of honesty and openness have never changed. We understand that one size doesn’t fit all. It starts with the right copier at the right price and from our very first meeting or conversation, our service has to be first class.

“It’s that collective honesty, openness, and service that’s always appreciated.”

Continued Growth

Bowden points to a range of company achievements that fill her with pride as much now as when she was getting those early contracts secured as a sole operative. These include Woodbank engineers achieving an average call-out time of under two hours in 2024. In the same year, the company accomplished a 92% first-time fix rate.

These achievements are part of what has allowed the company to achieve major contracts in recent years. These include an upgrade to the print setup for transportation and logistics company, WS Transportation, across eight sites. WS, which was formed in 2014, is a subsidiary of the Eddie Stobart transport company.

According to Woodbank, the Runcorn-based transport company faced a complex and fragmented print portfolio across its various sites after a period of growth and acquisitions in recent years. Woodbank was approached by WS to provide a simpler, more streamlined solution. Woodbank’s work included the installation of 15 new Konica Minolta printers, placed strategically across eight of WS’s sites. The printers are centrally managed by a dedicated account manager, alongside Woodbank’s in-house team of engineers.

Speaking upon completion of the upgrade, James Evans, account manager at Woodbank, said: “It’s been fantastic working with the team at WS to get them the results they needed. We’re excited to continue supporting them and build on this success.”

Representatives of WS were equally positive, with Stephen Hewertson, IT manager at WS, commenting: “With support from our new Woodbank account manager James, we were able to review data, absorb viable leases, and consolidate the rest. This solution is exactly what we were looking for. It’s already cut costs by 16% each quarter, and James keeps in regular contact to ensure everything is running smoothly.”

Woodbank also recently implemented a print management solution for Blackhurst Budd, a major law firm in Blackpool. Woodbank streamlined Blackhurst Budd’s printing solution from seven machines down to four Konica Minolta devices, with a focus on providing a consistent fleet cost-per-copy.

35 More Years?

After over 35 years in business, Woodbank’s plans remain simple. The company remains committed to securing growth, in people, customers, and technology. Bowden is clear on this, saying: “We’ll continue to bring in the advancements in technology and partner with those that enable us to support our customers as they grow and evolve. Our focus is and always will be on doing what we do well.”

In a retrospective video with Gemma Lee, chief people officer at Konica Minolta, Bowden mentions that she still has moments of doubt, despite the company’s success. “I still think I’ve got imposter syndrome now”, she says. “I still expect someone to say ‘go and work on the tills somewhere, this isn’t for you.’”

But this business clearly is for Janet Bowden, who has forged Woodbank into a company of continued growth alongside a dedicated team, weathering every financial storm of the last 35 years. The success of the company speaks for itself. As Bowden puts it: “Let success be your noise.”

Statistics

1989 – The company was founded in 1989, with the first employee hired in 1991
35 years – The company celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2024
13 – The company currently employs 13 members of staff
3 – The company has three offices: its Stockport headquarters as well as Liverpool and Leeds