Page 29 - Print21 November-December 2021

2021 Review
Above Sold: 41 years after it was founded Supreme Packaging joins Pro-Pac for $3.2m Above right Cancelled: the postponed drupa from last year was finally canned, but went online, attracting 45,000 printers to the virtual event
March
Marking the biggest acquisition in its history, Labelmakers Group bought Melbourne-based Rapid Labels. Founded in 1982, Rapid remained a 100 per cent privately-owned and managed business by Sean Kennon and Dave Power. Kennon retired, with Power remaining as general manager.
Also selling was flexo print operation Supreme Packaging, bought by Pro-Pac for $3.2m, with the company expected to deliver revenue of between $10m and $12m
JobKeeper, which kept much of the industry going for almost a year, coming to an end.
The end of JobKeeper was expected to result in multiple business closures, but thankfully that did not happen, as work had picked up, prior to the onset of the next batch of lockdowns in June.
Macaulay was set to stay on until a successor was found, but a motorbike accident took him out of the picture shortly afterwards, and while he recovered he never returned to print’s hotseat. He was in the role for five years.
April
The world’s biggest print trade show drupa was supposed to run this month, but the cancelled event still attracted 45,000 printers to its online version. Trade shows around the world continued to be canned, with virtually nothing taking place in 2021. Organisers are hoping for a return to service next year, with what is at present looking like a packed calendar.
Multi-Color Corporation bought 58-year-old leading Australian provider of in-mould label solutions, Herrods, for an undisclosed sum. The deal saw Herrods continue to operate under
its own brand, and with its existing leadership team. The company operates out of three sites in Melbourne, with around 100 staff.
Canva, the nine-year-old online design tool created by three friends from Melbourne
in 2012 continued its stratospheric growth, received a capital injection, and was valued at $20bn, and that is US dollars. Just six months later it was valued at $40bn, which is more than Woolworths and Telstra, and as much as Fortesque.
Investing: Dean Wright, ADS, making move for the future
In sad news desktop
revolutionary, Adobe co-founder, and PDF developer, Charles “Chuck” Geschke, passed away, aged 81, leaving a remarkable legacy as one of the few people who changed the face of print. Geschke founded Adobe with John Warnock in 1982.
And April saw the launch of the print industry’s own podcast The Print Files, from Print21. With several episodes each month The Print Files quickly became
a firm favourite with printers across Australia and New Zealand. Its first series was Leading in Print, coupled with a monthly discussion of the issues, trends and big stories emerging in print.
Far left
Leaving: Andrew Macaulay, CEO of PVCA, called time on his tenure with the employers association
Left
Stratospheric: Valuation of Canva shot up in April, and then doubled again in September, and keeps going higher
in the next financial year. The Clayton- based company with 50 staff runs an eight- colour wide web flexo print system.
Meanwhile Victorian-based print services company, ADS
Australia, moved into a new, larger facility in Somerton, as part of a near $5m investment programme. Dean
Centrum Printing
celebrated 20 years in business, with owner Percy Vij’s vision to pivot from a general commercial printer into a large format trade printer vindicated over the years. Centrum is one of the few print businesses with a female CEO, in Sandra Duarte.
Celebrating: 20 years for Centrum Printing, CEO Sandra Duarte
Wright, managing director, ADS Australia, told Print21, “We’re investing a lot of money into this new factory, between $2.5m-$3m, along with the $1.5m in new machines we have installed over the last 18-24 months.” March was also a time of endings, with PVCA CEO Andrew Macaulay calling time on his role leading the nation’s printers, and
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