INDUSTRY SUPPORTS CPX IN FLOOD RECOVERY

When CPX Printing & Logistics lost $7m in damages and equipment in the Queensland floods, suppliers and local printers, including its long-time ally Currie Group, rose to the occasion, offering support and equipment that has seen CPX make a swift comeback. 

When the Brisbane-based offset and digital printing and marketing solutions company was hit by the floods there was little time for action before millions of dollars worth of equipment floated away.
 
“The water rose by around 5.8 metres from the creek, and it was literally in and out, taking our equipment with it, causing in excess of $7m in damages. It has taken us six months to clean up most of it but even now we are still in the process of removing tonnes of rubbish,” explained CPX managing director James Bennett, who described the experience as heartbreaking.
 
“It was a complete wipe-out. We lost power for two weeks, and we had to run generators until the power was back on,” he said.
 
Suppliers rallied behind CPX almost immediately, and within two days, the business was meeting contractual obligations for on-demand and daily print runs, outsourcing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work.
 
Support and camaraderie
 
It was during the first week of the crisis that Bennett contacted long-time friend Bernie Robinson, director of Currie Group, to assist with replacing the lost equipment.

“Prior to the flood, I had been talking to Bernie about upgrading our current equipment, and when he heard of our current plight, he offered his assistance almost immediately, inviting me to meet him in Melbourne to purchase a new Horizon BQ-500, Horizon StitchLiner Mark III and HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press. He didn’t hesitate – nothing was too much trouble for him,” said Bennett.
 
Robinson arranged the new equipment, and also provided CPX with a range of used equipment, including a five-colour half-sheet press, a two-colour press, some folding machines, a binder and HT 1000 three-way trimmer, at a considerably reduced rate. He also put Bennett in touch with several of his contacts in Melbourne to help procure other assets that were needed.

“We knew that we needed to get James back up and running as quick as possible. There were a lot of moving parts which needed to be pieced together in quick succession, so a plan was created quite early, so that we could efficiently execute it once given the green light," said Michael Mostyn, Currie Group QLD sales account manager.
 
Bennet confirms that almost 90 per cent of equipment was replaced over a four-month period, confirming that CPX is now 90 per cent operational.
 
Silver linings
 
Despite the positive outcome, Bennett admits that he was completely devastated when the disaster first happened.
 
“I felt like I just couldn’t go on. Apart from everything else, I didn’t think that I was able to replace all the equipment we had purchased over our 26 years in business, even with the insurance money that we could claim,” said Bennett.

He turned a corner and had what he called a “reality check” a few days later, when he came upon a car parked on the CPX premises, where the man inside had taken his own life.
 
After meeting with the man’s family and realising the impact of that incident, Bennett said he realised that he wasn’t thinking correctly about what had happened.
 
“I had lost things, and there was damage, but no-one close to me had been physically harmed. Right then and there, I aimed to restart the business and to make it better,” he said, explaining that he then went on to create a masterplan to address everything in the company that needed improving.
 
Another incident that’s remained in Bennett’s mind happened the morning after the disaster, when he was helped by a teenage girl, who worked with him alone for several hours, retrieving items in the mud. Without knowing it, she had delivered a strong message on the importance of support.
 
Better than before
 
Bennett also acknowledges how much support he has received from his staff, who he says went beyond the call of duty. “My people did a remarkable job. They were able to allow me to remove myself from the business so that I could a negotiate with the insurance company and suppliers, and travel to source equipment while the business kept going," he said.
 
“On top of everything else they had to do an incredible amount of work, much more than they normally did. I want them to get involved with the business as it is being rebuilt and have invited them to submit ideas for improvement. One of the biggest changes that has resulted from this is that we now have a different layout in the factory. When the new equipment arrived, it was installed into a completely different workflow, thanks to staff involvement.”
 
Bennett acknowledges that CPX would not have survived without the support of the industry – particularly Currie Group and the Brisbane printing industry, and adds a special thanks to Matt Naughton from Printcraft and Tom Lusch from Platypus.
 
“I don't have people working for me, I work with people, and people work with me. And that's the only way we could have done what we did. The silver lining at the end of all of this is that we that we learnt a lot and we've ended up better than we would have ever imagined we could have – we have a better company and better hardware, which will make us more efficient."
 
CPX is now better prepared for future floods, and has invested in improved flood mitigation works, allowing for a probable maximum loss (PML) of 900 millimetres, to prevent the water from reaching the building for up to 24 hours.
 
Despite the losses since the disaster, Bennett is grateful that CPX has achieved so much due to the support of others, which has reconfirmed his love for the industry.
 
“For those who have experienced a similar crisis, I would say, take a breath, and reach out to others. If we work together, we can do anything,” he concludes.