Inside Hannanprint's Warwick Farm

Dec 13, 2012 at 05:45 pm by Staff


IPMG’s $90 million relocation of its Hannanprint heatset web business to the western Sydney suburb or Warwick Farm is well underway, with all major equipment in production and an “early 2013” target set for completion.

Chief executive Stephen Anstice says the change in market conditions has confirmed the importance of the move from inner-city Alexandria.

“Our new facility incorporates the latest in printing technology and will provide outstanding service to customers, while assisting in controlling costs,” he says.

A manroland Rotoman heatset press already in production is one of three large presses being relocated, while installation of a new 96-page twin-web Lithoman press is well underway. The fully-duplexed stacked press will be a world first.

Also in place is new Ferag postpress equipment – including drum inserting and inline stitching and trimming – and an extensive Kolbus perfect binding line.

Anstice says all of the major equipment has been commissioned and is meeting output expectations.

The Hannan family has put the 40,000m2 former Hannanprint plant site on the rental market. It forms a substantial part of the Sydney Corporate Park – named Australia’s best business park by the Property Council of Australia – on the site of the former British Oxygen depot between Bourke Road and O’Riordan Street, acquired in the late 1980s.

In a report to accompany annual accounts lodged in October, Anstice said IPMG’s revenue had fallen by 7.9 per cent to $450 million – following a three per cent fall in print volume – leading to a $12.6 million loss on operating activities (2011 $13.7 million profit). Cash however, increased more than $22 million to $29.3 million.

The group – including print and digital businesses, but not properties – also made a loss ($17.3 million) against last year’s profit of $4.2 million. Costs associated with the Hannanprint relocation and closure of Craft Printing contributed to the loss. It has also continued to invest in Offset Alpine and Inprint.

Two “expensive and challenging years” are the price Anstice says the company knew it had to meet to “profitably meet the needs of clients with a well-equipped, efficient and versatile print facility”.

The scale of the endeavour should not be underestimated: “We believe it is the biggest relocation in the history of the printing industry in Australia,” he says.

• From GXpress Magazine, November 2012


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