Heidelberg Australia will move Gallus Oceania, the label printing and folding carton presses manufacturer, into its east Melbourne facility at the end of the year.
German-based parent Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, which previously owned 30% of Gallus Group, last year took over 100% of the Swiss manufacturer before the two companies launched a digital inkjet label press in September.
“Gallus Oceania will be transferring its business knowledge across from Bayswater and will move under our umbrella here at Notting Hill later this year,” said Richard Timson, MD, Heidelberg Australia & New Zealand. “Gallus Oceania MD James Rodden will stay on and be focused on driving our labels business. However, it’s unlikely other staff will transfer over because Gallus is a relatively small operation and we have plenty of staff. There’s not too much equipment involved as most of the Gallus machinery is shipped directly to customers from Switzerland but there will be some spare parts and consumables.”
Timson is optimistic about the future. “It’s a very good move for both Heidelberg and Gallus and I’m very optimistic that it will work out well. It’s a strengthening of the Gallus brand and it will be very positive for both customers and suppliers.”
The shift will happen just before or just after Christmas 2015 and Gallus will be fully embedded in the Heidelberg business from 1 April, 2016.
“The full acquisition of Gallus will further enhance the cooperation of the two companies and together we will continue to foster the development in the growing market for digital label production,” Gerold Linzbach, Heidelberg CEO, said at the time of the acquisition.
Gallus Oceania has been servicing the Australian market since 1995 as a designer and manufacturer of narrow web printing and converting equipment. The Gallus Group, one of the world’s leading partners for label printers, develops and manufactures machine systems at its headquarters in the Swiss City of St. Gallen and at a second production facility in Germany.
Heidelberg Australia/New Zealand (HAN), is a fully owned unit of German-based press giant Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg).
Heidelberg and Gallus are developing a portfolio of digital products for the labels sectors, commercial and packaging printing, utilising industrialised inkjet technology from Fujifilm.