News Archive

• Spicers faces showdown with US equity firm 

  

  Paper merchant Spicers is facing yet another fight with its shareholders, with New York-based private equity firm Coastal Capital demanding the removal of the company’s finance director and CFO Wayne Johnston (pictured).

• Print’s future is in the mail 

  

  The printing industry provides 80% of Australia Post’s mail business but has little influence over its business decisions. Andrew Macaulay is setting out to change that.

• Fujifilm tightens control of Fuji Xerox NZ 

  

  A team of executives from Fuji Xerox in Japan, including global president and Fujifilm corporate vice-president Hiroshi Kurihara, have arrived in New Zealand to introduce tough new corporate governance measures in the wake of a $450 million “inappropriate accounting” scandal.

• De Agostini rides to Rilecart’s rescue 

  

  Italian holding company De Agostini has purchased a controlling stake in Cartiere Paolo Pigna, the Italian parent company of Rilecart Binding Supplies, after two years of restructuring and negotiations to pull the troubled firm out of its financial difficulties.

• PIAA revamps National Print Awards 

  

  Printing Industries has ‘revitalised’ the National Print Awards (NPA) so that the winners of state-based Printing Industries Craftsmanship Awards (PICAs) will qualify as NPA finalists. The move means a revival of the PICAs in New South Wales and Victoria.

• Paper industry’s ‘outmoded’ deinking model 

  

  As politicians in the paper industry try to protect an outdated existing model, at least six digital press manufacturers are now working on new approaches to deinking to ensure that digital prints are recyclable.

• Anzpac staying open after Hong Kong purchase 

  

  Venerable Sydney folding carton printer Anzpac has been sold to a buyer in Hong Kong after its Malaysian owner decided to offload the business. The deal with the unnamed Hong Kong-based buyer is being finalised, and will see the Smithfield printer remain open under a new name.

• Cashing out? Then cash in your clients, guru says 

  

  Industry analyst Richard Rasmussen says strong client bases can be valuable for business owners looking to sell up, adding that there’s ‘never going to be a better time’ to exit the industry. Ascent Partners’ Market Watch has released its ‘year that was’ report for the financial year.

• NZ govt. investigating Fuji Xerox contracts 

  

  New Zealand’s Auditor-General has confirmed that a Ministry of Business investigation is underway into government contracts with Fuji Xerox, following the discovery of accounting irregularities in the company’s Australasian subsidiaries that overstated revenues by $450 million.

• Heatset-web wars: IVE grabs PacMags contract 

  

  Sydney-based IVE Group has swiped a key four-year contract from rival PMP to print the entire stable of titles of leading Seven West Media-owned magazine publisher Pacific Magazines. The majority of PacMags titles will transition to IVE in mid-October.

• Women in Print celebrates 10th year 

  

  Tickets are on sale for the 10th annual Women in Print (WiP) series for women working in the print media industry. This year’s guest speaker is author, actor and online marketing strategist Bernadette Schwerdt.

• Northwood to speak at 17th SWUG conference 

  

  Australian Catalogue Association CEO Kellie Northwood will be a keynote speaker – “emphasising print’s strengths and environmental credentials” – at this year’s 17th annual Single Width Users’ Group (SWUG) Conference in Auckland.

• AusPost made letters business ‘look worse’: report 

  

  There’s been a call for an independent inquiry into reports that accounting practices at Australia Post over the past six years made its letters business appear worse than it actually was. “It certainly looks a little dodgy,” says one mailing industry veteran.

• Craig Nethercott fills key Canon Océ role 

  

  Following Canon Australia’s splitting of the company into two, Océ has appointed company veteran, Craig Nethercott (pictured) to the role of managing director of Océ in the Oceania region.

• Power prices threaten print businesses: PIAA 

  

  Printing Industries has warned that “unsustainable” increases in electricity prices and unreliable supply are “a serious and immediate threat” to the survival of Australian print businesses. The PIAA accuses electricity suppliers of manipulating the market to increase profits.

• ACCC postpones OfficeMax decision 

  

  Corporate watchdog delays its decision on the proposed acquisition of OfficeMax Australia by US-based private equity giant Platinum Equity. The deal would give Platinum two of the three major chains in Australia’s $10 billion-a-year office supplies market.

• Synnex to distribute Fuji Xerox Printers’ range 

  

  Fuji Xerox Printers has expanded its distribution partnership with Synnex Australia to include the entire Fuji Xerox print portfolio. Synnex is a leading distributor with national reach, warehousing and logistics.

• Register for LIA’s Blue Star site tour 

  

  IVE Group COO Matt Aitken will be the guest speaker at a Lithographic Institute of Australia (LIA) site tour of the Blue Star facilities at Silverwater in Sydney next month.

• PrintReleaf plants ‘eight trees a minute’ 

  

  Printing industry initiative PrintReleaf says it now plants eight trees a minute around the world across a global network of reforestation projects. The program allows businesses to certifiably reduce their environmental impact.

• Fuji Xerox wins $27m toll notice contract 

  

  Fuji Xerox Australia has won a $27.7 million NSW Government contract to print and mail toll notices resulting from unpaid tolls on Sydney roads. “There are millions of unpaid toll notices that go out every year,” says a government spokesperson.