A meeting of strangers

When Michael Tyrrell left school it was with some advice from the careers office that turned out to be very sound: “You’re really artistic and have some very creative ideas, so maybe look into doing something around graphics and design?.”

Having worked his way through a number of different qualifications to equip himself with the knowledge and skills needed, Tyrrell turned down a place at university after a summer working for a design agency and screen printer where his Mac and design skills came in very useful.

So useful in fact that he was given a job at the latter, one which led him to actually end up helping to run the business itself. A few years on and it was time to start his own sign company, which he ran until 2011 before selling up his shares to found a new type of business that really embraced his passion for ethical business practices and was to be run on a quality or death basis.

This might sound a little bit dramatic, but even a short conversation with Tyrrell reveals that he is really that obsessive on this count: “After 18 years of clients sending me their content at the ninth hour I have learnt to live with short lead times.  We deliver quality whatever the lead time.  I have never let anyone down.”


He continues, taking up a story that illustrates the point: “I’m going to tell you a little story.  Eight of our clients were exhibiting at the World Travel Market in London’s Excel last year.  So the day before the exhibition was a busy day of installations for us. One of the eight clients decided that they wanted a number of additional panels on their stand, these were 1 x 2m Foamex (5mm), matt laminated printed panels. They decided this at 4:30 the afternoon before the exhibition opened. 



“I smiled politely and told him yes, of course we can do that for you. I took the brief and said that they would be produced and installed ready for his press preview at 9am the following day.



“While the client sat in the bar enjoying an ice cold pint of Heineken, we headed back in the dark through the Blackwall Tunnel and down the A2.  Because of our in-house production facilities we produced the additional panels and headed back up to London in the early hours of the morning. We gained early access into the halls and installed the graphics.  I called the client to let him know we were finished and he replied, ‘there was no need to call, I hadn’t doubted that it wouldn’t be completed. I’ll be there just as soon as I’ve finished my scrambled eggs’. I have never let anyone down.”

Exhibition stands and large-format print are just one facet of Tyrrell’s business however, as he diversified early on to become a new breed of print-service-provider that is as confident building branded shell-schemes as he is producing a run of several thousand brochures. Indeed, the company’s product portfolio spans business cards, compliment slips, flyers, folded leaflets, letterheads, presentation folders, and NCR pads. This makes him a rare breed, as while many commercial printers have made the jump into large-format digital print and the world of signs, there are very few sign-makers that have managed to do the reverse.



Forensic attitude

Bea-utiful Design and Print was borne in 2011 and was setup by Tyrrell with a vision that not only embraces this pursuit of quality products at all costs, but also a real passion for what he calls, ‘creativity, honesty, integrity’. Many may laugh and say those are nice ideals on paper, but wait till you are finding it difficult to pay the bills. Well, Tyrrell says there is a method in his madness, as with a number of very big marketing agencies as clients, the result of his approach is that they refer him to their clients and peers without question.

His ambition is also big, as he has a strategic plan which sees Bea-utiful become a franchised model with a singly centralised hub for graphics production and systems manufacture. 



“We want to simply be the supplier of choice for the UK’s marketing industry when it comes to services such as exhibition graphics and related print products,” he comments.

Looking at Tyrrell’s workshop it is so forensically clean that a Formula 1 racing team would be proud. This is part of a wider approach to the running of the business which sees a focus very simply on doing things right first time, and doing them with the minimum of fuss and maximum efficiency.

“Quality is something that’s inside you.  It’s a feeling, a sixth sense. It’s inside me. A deep value which we uphold at all costs, we hold ourselves accountable. I walked away from my last business because my partners didn’t share the same value—they increased profits at the expense of quality,” candidly states Tyrrell.

He continues: “Another nice story is that we had four clients exhibiting at IBC in Amsterdam. For one of our clients we had produced eight 50mm deep 3D Polystyrene logos.  We were installing the stand when, along with the client we decided that we wanted them all to be double the size at whatever the cost.



“This was 24 hours before the show opened. We were in a different country and had three other clients to look after at the same time.  I called my production facility in the UK, who said that they could produce them but how were we going to get them to Amsterdam? I told them to put someone on a plane and we began to source flights.

“But after an hour of searching the skies, with the production time and then travelling time, it just wasn’t going to work. We thought of a courier, but I’ve been let down by couriers losing my packages in the past. So, I instructed them to make two sets, that was 16 logos in total, but send the two sets both with different couriers to make sure they got to me.



“I had to cancel my flight home and stay an extra night in Amsterdam. Most hotels were fully booked because Amsterdam’s largest exhibition was opening the next morning.  I eventually found one but the receptionist didn’t speak English and I don’t speak Dutch.  I thought she said €65 per night and it turned out to €265.  But it didn’t matter, it was a delivery address.  The first set of logos arrived at 8.50am.  With an hour before the show opened I got to the venue and installed the logos and we had another very happy client. Just as well I booked two sets as a back up, as the second courier lost their set of logos and the still to this day, have never materialised.”



New ambitions

Not a man to do things by halves, I first met Tyrrell while on a press trip with Agfa to Belgium and the unveiling of its brand new flatbed printing systems (Jeti Mira and Tauro), as well as its new state-of-the-art Acorta flatbed cutter. His mission at the moment is to research and secure both types of technology for new contracts he is reaching for in The ‘High End’ POS display market. This would add to his current workhorse of a 1.6m Mimaki JV33, Mimaki Plotter, and Laminator.

With plans that could see his firm shell out some £300,000 in this venture, he is not worried. Indeed, he explains the £30,000 Mimaki and plotter paid for itself within a year, and with several big clients already lined up he estimated a return-on-investment within a minimum of three years.



 “We are very aware that we need to keep building the company and pushing forward with new products and services to ensure its long-term future. Our niche market is the experience of how to deal with the larger marketing agencies and knowing that the big brands require perfect quality, service, and flexibility every time,” says Tyrrell.


He adds: “But that is not enough long-term and we are now in a position to produce a brand new product, and one which is really interesting and has a cool back story.

“A company moved in next door on our trading estate to setup their bespoke stretched ceiling service for applications such as high-end interior decoration, hospitality atmosphere pieces, and manifestation graphics.

“As they were very new to the local area I helped them setup all sorts of services and got them acquainted with some of my own suppliers and provided them with all their brochures and print work needs. From here it seemed like a really good fit and they gave Bea-utiful the contract to do all the printing for their products. What we can achieve in terms of quality prints has put a sparkle in their eye for a market which they weren’t really aiming at.

“With its specialised tensioning frame system it could also be put onto a wall as an interchangeable wallpaper, exhibition ceiling, or temporary dividing wall for events.”

The system already comes in a range of colours as standard and Bea-utiful comes in by providing the bespoke printed PVC ceiling elements of the service. Tyrrell is there from the design stage with these commissions and after a consultation with the client produces a 3D render of how the ceiling or graphic will work in its environment.

The client base for Easy Ceiling Technologies (ECT) was initially markets such as interior decorators and luxury retail unit fitters, but with Tyrrell now helping drive it forward they have already secured work with some very big marketing and exhibition agencies, who see its practicality and potential.

The specialised framing system is imported from Russia as it is super light-weight and very strong, with only 10mm return, while the material likewise is no ordinary waterproof and fire-certified PVC. Imported specially from Germany it ranges from 0.15 to 0.35mm in thickness and 180 to 320gsm in weight. But its special characteristic is that it can stretch by up to 220 percent of its original size without warping—something that has to be accounted for in the original design stage.

The production of the technology has also been awarded DIN ISO 9001 quality standard as it is often specified by architects for applications such as hiding piping and electrical conduits in major office and retail builds—with the option that each individual unit can customise their own space with a choice or colour, design, or bespoke print.

“This is one of the most exciting times I have experienced in my career, the possibilities with this technology is recently something. After this chat I am going to book my tickets out to FESPA in Germany as I want to look at a few additional pieces of kit that we need to kick this project into high gear,” reveals Tyrrell.

Customers deserve better

With a core business of producing custom built Exhibition Stand graphics for both national and international exhibitions, Bea-utiful has also served some more exotic requests that have won it industry prestige. A job at Christmas saw it produce a 2 x 2m cylindrical advent calendar with each door covered with a removable vinyl sticker. As the days ticked by it revealed a new deal on offer at one of the airports retail units.  The last World Travel Exhibition also see it have to produce 50 individual panels for one customer to represent each one of its world-wide partners, above which hung a bespoke 18 x 3m double-sided banner.

Tyrrell concludes: “At Bea-utiful we have identified the three biggest headaches faced by marketing agencies all over the world.  The first is short lead times from clients. The second is lack of communication from graphics suppliers. And the third is the level of confidence they have in suppliers.  Can they deliver?  Will they deliver? Will the quality be of a high enough standard?”

“We are so set on preventing these headaches that we have devised the ‘Bea-utiful Promise’. You may well chuckle, but all quotations are returned within 48hrs, quotation updates within 24hrs, and regular updates at every stage of the project. To help with this, we have designed our own custom systems to ensure that these promises are met every time.

“In the final analysis you deserve to have absolute faith and trust in your suppliers.”


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