The Ovato administrator is wasting no time in seeking a sale for the stricken print giant, calling for expressions of interest to be submitted by this Friday, and for binding offers to be in two weeks later. Several potential buyers are in the frame.

While still a shock for the local print industry, Ovato going into administration can’t be too much of a surprise, given its travails over recent years. Since the PMP IPMG merger the company has racked up some $430m in losses.

The fall of Ovato into voluntary administration has been caused by rapidly changing market demands, and in particular the supercharged rise of the smartphone as a primary communication channel.

Print21 assesses what the next steps are for the stricken business, what that will involve, who is linked to who, and who may be looking to buy the one time giant of ANZ print.

Heatset giant Ovato is in voluntary administration. Ovato has been in stormy waters for the past five years, its many recent attempts to stabilise the ship ultimately proving unsuccessful, as it finally hit the rocks.

Jill Cowling has been made group chief executive officer of New Zealand’s Blue Star Group – encompassing both the Blue Star and Webstar operations – the biggest print business in the country.

Japanese press manufacturer Komori returned to profit in its last financial year ending April, with orders up by a third, sales up by a fifth, and all figures showing improvement over the previous year.

German press manufacturing giant Koenig & Bauer will be independent of pipeline gas by the end of the month, meaning it will not be subject to variations in supply from Russia.

Matthew Penfold is taking on the role of chair of the Kwik Kopy franchise, one of the largest in the country. As he steers the group towards a revitalised future, he shares his ambitions with Patrick Howard.

Highway Press has purchased its fifth Konica Minolta printer, a highly specified AccurioPress C7100 series, in order it says, to take advantage of the versatility, productivity, and efficiency benefits it offers.

Multi-channel communication solutions provider DMM has rebranded itself, with the company now trading as Engine, and focusing on four main pillars of business.

Wenger Cutting Forms has purchased a Century 1050Q die-cutter and stripping unit from Graffica, to speed up its die-cutting offerings and efficiently eliminate waste.

Hobart operation Monotone Art Printers ordered a new high-volume Konica Minolta C14000 digital colour print system from the stand at PacPrint, to join its digital fleet.

The main AAB print businesses Pegasus Print Group and SOS Print + Media, along with F&M Supplies and AB Warehousing & Logistics, are now operating as one brand: Pegasus Media & Logistics.

Southern Impact has ordered the first HP Indigo 15K in the country, with installation of the B2 press expected in September at the company’s Mount Waverley factory.

Melbourne Mailing, now part of the Precision Group, has ordered a new Kyocera Taskalfa Pro 15000c from the company at PacPrint, which will join the two already running at Precision.