LES BADDOCK BACK FOLLOWING FIRE
One of the country’s oldest trade houses, Les Baddock Bookbinders, is back up and running, just seven weeks after a devastating fire ripped through its Sydney facility.
The company has made the building good again after the fire, which destroyed the power circuits and much of the plumbing, both of which now have been renewed and replaced.
The production equipment is being slowly replaced, Baddock is still waiting on its insurers before it gets the big ticket items such as its PUR binding line, but many smaller items such as folders and guillotines have been installed, with more to come.
Simon Ashmore, managing director of the business, which is more than 100 years old, said, “We have worked hard, and are operational once again. We won't be fully up to speed until the new year, and in fact we are already fairly full for the rest of this year.
“It has been a challenging situation, but our expectation is that we will be back to where we were. We will also be looking at investing in new areas, depending on where the demand is.”
The fire was caused by a stray spark falling into the magnesium blocks. No staff inside the building at the time were injured. It took 15 fire trucks and 60 firefighters to tackle the blaze.
Ashmore paid tribuite to the trade for its support since the fire, he said, “We have been overwhelmed with messages of support and offers of help from the industry. That has been a real positive, and has meant so much to us. We would also like to thank our customers for their support through these challenging times.”
Les Baddock Bookbinders is a specialist binding house, founded by Les Baddock at the beginning of the last century, and today marries traditional skills with modern techniques. It services the print trade, offers bespoke binding and restoration, and binds student theses.
It has grown over the years through its strong customer relationships and by incorporating other bookbinding companies such as LJ Cullen, JA Martin Reeve, Trade Ruling & Binding and Peckham Binding.