A York firm which helps other businesses run smoothly today announced that it is heading for record profits.

Ben Johnson Office Solutions, the office supplies and equipment retailer based in Stirling Park, Clifton Moor, declared £1.1 million sales in the first four months of this year, representing a 15 per cent increase over the same period last year and a 21 per cent increase on 2002.

Now it has announced that its boom in the first seven months has been the best for three years - and the progress curve is up. With sales at £1.835 million it is on target to beat last year's turnover of £2.8 million.

The 149-year-old firm, formerly owned by printers RR Donnelley before a management buyout of the office supply trading in 1992, disclosed the figures while pitching for the Growth Business of the Year title in the 2004 Evening Press Business of the Year. It has also entered the e-Commerce Business of the Year category.

Adrian Rumble, took over as managing director after buying the shares of his predecessor, Jeremy Oxley, at the beginning of last year. Along with directors David Riley and Karl Delaney he began an extensive evaluation and evolution of company structures.

Since then, despite some redundancies, he has employed 13 new employees to bring the total to 28 as the financial growth was distributed throughout Ben Johnson's three sectors.

That includes the technology products and services division which has been given a huge fillip because of technological advances from Panasonic and Canon, key suppliers for photocopying and network equipment.

The investment in new staff was necessary because the customer base, which has grown to 800, includes the NHS in Yorkshire, Jorvik Viking Centre, Corus Rail Infrastructure Services and solicitors Harrowell Shaftoe.

Also contributing to the firm's success is its sophisticated on-line ordering system at www.benjohnson.co.uk which empowers the consumer to control and monitor their spending on stationery through a customised system or to make random choice from its "virtual" shop stock of 30,000 products.

Updated: 12:19 Thursday, August 05, 2004