Wealth & Finance International - Business Awards 2015

Business Awards 2015 32 Best Franking Machine Manufacturer – UK Headquartered in Switzerland, Frama is an international company providing solutions for the secure handling of sensi- tive and financial data. Lenny Wood from Frama was available to explain the challenges to the industry and why winning an award like this means so much. Company: Frama Ltd. Name: Lenny Wood E-mail: [email protected] Web Address: www.frama.co.uk Address: 15 Limes Court, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, EN11 8EP Telephone: 01992 451 125 Frama Ltd. In a very competitive industry, it is a great feeling to have been awarded, ‘Best Franking Machine Manufacturer’ over our closest and in most cases larger competitors. Having always been a very agile company, we are able to make changes to our services quickly, responding to market forces efficiently and consistently to meet or exceed the demands of our customers. Additionally, our values of no hidden charges, Swiss build quality and commitment to aftercare win us new plaudits every day. Established for more than 40 years, it is always gratifying to win an indus- try award as they are a very important part of our brand awareness efforts and help to paint a favourable picture of the company. Industry awards like these also allow us to differentiate ourselves from the competition. Being a part of a Swiss organisation, Frama UK prides itself on high quality and attention to detail in all things. This is the mind set of our employees and is applied to all levels of the business. This approach works very well with both our customer base and prospects alike. As a global company based in over 50 countries worldwide, close monitoring of the global economy is a must and an upturn in the world economy is always welcome. When the Swiss National Bank sudden- ly announced that it would no longer hold the Swiss franc at a fixed exchange rate with the euro, we did have a challenging time. However, some small tweaks here and there we weathered the storm and have been able to move forward. Our hardware and software applications are used in a broad spectrum of applications worldwide. Global management and flow of postage funds be- tween logistics service companies and postal authorities are offered along with the use of Frama technology in the taxation and finance industries. Our top vertical markets are with solicitors, local education and accoun- tants, generally any industry producing a large amount of physical post. We pride ourselves on delivering the highest levels of customer service before, during and after every sale. To this end we introduced the Fra- macareS customer service promise. Our members of staff are regularly trained on customer service, satisfaction and retention to provide a fantastic customer experience. Frama are well known for innovation, bringing a number of firsts to the franking machine industry. Most recently, Frama were the first franking manufacturer to bring a full range of Mailmark™ machines to the market earning several industry awards in the process. Frama also introduced the SMARTER Franking plan to the franking industry two years ago. This plan provides customers with everything they need to purchase maintain and run a franking system, all wrapped up in to one easy payment. Everything is included; machine cost, full maintenance, ink, delivery and installation. In addition, Tariff updates and re-crediting fees are also covered by the plan, a first for the franking industry and an initiative that keeps customers coming back. With the increase in electronic communication, physical mail and the handling of documentation is evolving. Frama have identified this trend early and is taking positive steps to diversify our product portfolio. Frama will continue to service the franking machine industry, but is already looking at a number of digital products to cater to the increasing need for digital document handling solutions. Frama UK is based in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. As a part of a world- wide company and services the whole of the UK, we do not experience any particular disadvantages from this location although being in close proximity to London does provide some benefits in regards to being close to central government and a wide range of UK business head offices.