Page 14 - Print21 Jan-Feb 2020

Leading Article
Public face
founded in 1887 by the original Irish immigrant, grandfather Francis Hannan.
In the half century since, the colourful
and turbulent rise of the man has entailed,
in brief order, adventures in newspaper and magazine publishing ventures; battles and deals with people such as Kerry Packer and John B Fairfax; print developments including the acquisition of well-known entities Sinnott Bros, Craft Printing, and Offset Alpine Printing in Sydney, and Inprint in Brisbane; and the development of the showcase of the industry, a massive IPMG industrial printing site in Alexandria (in addition to a substantial presence in Melbourne), before it was sold
for mega real estate bucks and transferred to Warwick Farm.
There are many family-owned printing companies in the industry; the vast majority of print enterprises are, in fact, owner operators. Not many take the leap into the publicly listed space, preferring to work in private. For some it’s not for a lack of size or scope – think of the Nankervis dynasty in Melbourne, for just one instance.
Publicly listed companies have access
to financial markets in a manner private companies don’t, but they do have more disclosure – and frankly, in the printing industry they haven’t been all that successful in the past. I think that’s about to change with the tenure of Hannan at Ovato and Selig at Ive. These two know printing,
its worth, and its challenges. For my money, it’s a welcome change after a time when the industry was threatened by private equity pirates with no industry background to see individuals with printing ink in their DNA
at the helm of our two largest enterprises. 21
of printing people
This time around I’m out at Ovato at Warwick Farm in Sydney’s south west to help celebrate the arrival of the latest $20 million manroland Lithoman press (see page 72 this issue). The event brings into sharp relief the enduring power of families when it comes to printing.
Comparisons may not necessarily
be odious but they are unavoidable when it comes to the two largest, publicly-listed, printing enterprises
in our region, Ovato and Ive Group. The two are neck and neck in size and influence; they compete vigorously in the market, showing no quarter. Ive Group, with $724 million
in revenue last year, edged Ovato’s $669.2 million – both serving to emphasise the cash generating values of the printing industry.
During the period Ovato had some massive logistical challenges to overcome in bedding down the merger between the then IPMG and PMP. However, the relative size and scale of the two is certainly not set in stone.
Both are print-based enterprises – Ovato more so than Ive, which has diversified further into marketing. Notably, they are run by two dyed-in-the-wool print industry identities: Michael Hannan as chairman at Ovato, and Geoff Selig as chairman at Ive Group. The similarities of their situations are striking even as the two are notably very different individuals. Both are in charge of stock exchange listed companies that have their foundation in printing. Both have
managed and operated their family-owned printing companies for decades. Both were inheritors of much smaller but nonetheless viable commercial printing companies that have, under their watch, grown to become the Pty Ltd behemoths of today.
I met with the normally publicity-shy Michael Hannan, chairman of Ovato,
at the re-launch of the Warwick Farm
site. He was there in support of his CEO, Kevin Slaven, to welcome a selection of customers – Bauer, Woolworths, Medium Rare, Elephant Group – to see the newly commissioned manroland Lithoman press and the final stage of integration of the two businesses. After the plant inspection we went for a splendid lunch at the nearby Warwick Farm racecourse.
A long way to the top
Michael Hannan has thoroughbred form in the printing industry. I first became aware of him and the family back in
the 1970s when they were operating Goss Community presses on Randwick’s Belmore Road, near the butcher shop
Patrick Howard
— Editor-at-large
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14 Print21 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020