Page 35 - Print 21 Magazine Jul-Aug 2020

Embellishment
Australian connection
Australia was the first country outside central Europe in which Kurz established an overseas subsidiary, the first in the anglophone world. With the Australian model used
as a blueprint, the company has established 23 subsidiaries.
Its first managing director in Australia was Geoff Johnstone.
In fact, he went to Kurz with the business plan, the Kurz family liked what they saw and Johnstone was hired to establish the business here.
He said, “I knew Kurz; the company I was with used its foil for stamping brands into shoe insoles.
I recognised the quality of product and believed there would be multiple applications here, and so it proved.”
Kurz initially set up with Johnstone’s old company as its distributor. But when Walter Kurz came to Australia for six months in 1974 to gain an understanding of the subsidiary, it took distribution in- house. It has been that way ever since, albeit with a distributor in Western Australia. In addition to running the ANZ operation, Johnstone went on
to set up the Kurz business in Asia, which has grown to represent around 20 per cent of global revenue.
Over the time that Kurz has been in Australia, printing and packaging has been the one constant market.
The company has supplied foil to many other sectors: from furniture, to the automotive industry, to plastics. These sectors have come and gone but print and packaging has remained throughout the five decades.
Today the product comes into
the Adelaide warehouse where it is converted and slit and spooled to order. From there, it goes to Kurz warehouses in Melbourne and Sydney for distribution to customers around Australia. A smaller operation in Auckland services New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Manufacturing takes place
in Germany, the US, China, and Malaysia; all plants produce to the same standard. The China operation also came though Johnstone’s initiative. A contact led to him taking a small booth at an exhibition in
Kun Ming. A government official
.../continued on page 36
Main
Celebrating: Current
Kurz Australia managing director Stephen Pratt (left) with founding managing director Geoff Johnstone
Far left and above
Embellishing solutions: Wide range of options from Kurz
Walter Kurz:
Australia made an impact
It was in 1974 when young Walter Kurz arrived in Australia for a six-month stint of on-the-ground experience in an overseas subsidiary. Walter is grandson of the founder of the Kurz business, and he was next in line to take up the family business when his father, the renowned Dr Herbert Kurz, stepped back.
Australia was the first Kurz direct subsidiary. Its template was used as the basis to establish 22 more subsidiaries around the world.
Dr Herbert Kurz had been a regular visitor to Australia in the 1960s. He spoke effusively of Australia and the hard-working people he met. “My father loved Australia,” Walter says.
One of the first decisions Walter Kurz made after assessing the business here was to transform the company into a distributor as well as an importer.
Five decades on, Walter is the long-time head of the company, with his own son, Andreas, well on his way to assuming the reins. “I broke the mould; both my father and grandfather only had one son,” Walter says. “We actually are fairly fortunate, because with only single sons and two world wars, it could have been a different story.”
The Kurz family has remained committed to the company and the industry over the decades. “We are aware that we are the final part of the production process,” Walter says. “This is part of the reason for our success. The reliability and consistency that we bring to market is appreciated.”
Leading a global company that is more than a century old in the fast-moving world of print takes some doing. But Walter says the same principles that have guided his father and grandfather before him stand true today.
“Kurz is open-minded. We know different people in different parts of the world will see and do things differently,” Walter says.
“We have always been open to new ideas, and
to taking the best from one part of the world and implementing it elsewhere if appropriate. We have a rich past, but we are always looking forward.
We spend a significant amount of our revenue
on research and development, which keeps our customers moving ahead.”
Australia has played its part in the development of Kurz. For instance, the idea of foiling on
wine labels came from label printer Ever Ready
in Griffith. Foil in banknotes came from the relationship between Kurz Australia and Note Printing Australia. Both are now found in markets around the world. “Australia has contributed a lot. Its people are innovative,” Walter says.
The family-owned nature of the business provides those classic benefits of agility, flexibility, and family values. With around 80 per cent of businesses in Germany being owned by families, Walter says there is a great resonance between the company and its customers. “Companies like ours tend to have a long-term view, and share the same values,” he says.
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