Page 29 - Print21 Magazine Jan-Feb 21

Profile
“Industrial Print Co has remained at the front of the market thanks to our innovative approach, our belief in our ability to give the market what it wants, and our customer service.” – Steve Scott, general manager
a great thinker, joining the dots
and coming up with modifications and additions that mean we have a production plant that is probably unlike anything anywhere else. We start with the factory press and then work with it to turn it into what we want.” Scott senior is still in that role as the company continues to move forward.
The work goes into a host of industry sectors, including medical, financial, and pharmaceutical. The company produces everything from pads to fan apart sets, to docket books, to repositionable sticky
notes. Its business forms operation accounts for around two thirds of
the company’s activity; it has over
the past decade added sheetfed
offset, digital printing and wide format printing to its arsenal. Scott says, “We want to be able to give a comprehensive service to our clients, and all in-house. They may want
their regular docket books, but with
a dozen pull-up banners as well, or some coreflute, or some perfect bound books. We are able to deliver.”
Trade printing is a competitive business, even within a niche. Scott says, “Clients come to Industrial Print because they know they can trust us. They can trust us to produce a great job, on time, at a good price. They can trust us to not go after their clients – that would never happen
– and they can trust us to be honest and upfront with them. It is about relationship, and our relationship
with our clients is mature.”
The business serves the whole
of the east coast of Australia. Lithgow is a couple of hours outside Sydney, but as part of the company’s innovative approach, it bought
the courier route from Lithgow to the national distribution centre in Silverwater. Scott says, “It gives us complete control over delivery. We do the run every day.”
Industrial Print Co remains in
the hands of the Scott family, and
the 37 staff who work there are also considered family. Scott says, “We have extremely low turnover of staff. In smaller towns if a staff member
is treated well, they tend to stay,
and that has been our experience. Operating in a time of Covid has
been as hard for Industrial Print as for the rest of the industry, but with full ownership of the building and
low debt, coupled with the stable workforce, the company is well placed.
Indeed, Scott is looking to the future, with new revenue streams
on the agenda. He says, “Our ability to take a means of production and modify it to suit a particular market is a real asset, and one that I am sure we will build on in the years to come.”
Businesses like Industrial Print Co that allow themselves to think outside the box while being prudent with their cash are always among those that are on the success lists, and there is no reason to assume anything other than that for this likeable bunch. 21
Riecken named NSW LIA
Heidelberg Graduate of Year
Heiko Riecken from trade print operation Industrial Print Co has been named the NSW LIA Heidelberg Graduate of the Year, receiving his award on-site
at the Lithgow NSW factory in a special ceremony attended by industry leaders.
Riecken is the oldest-ever winner of the award. He had been in print for most of his life, and wanted to formalise his experience. He has though now moved on from the printing industry, finding employment in a new field.
At the ceremony in Lithgow were Savas Mystakidis, managing director, Heidelberg Australia & New Zealand; Terry Nolan, print teacher at TAFE NSW; Peter Harper, general manager, Tradeshows & Publications, Visual Connections; Mitch Mulligan, managing director Bottcher Australia, and LIA committee member; and Angus Scott, president LIA NSW.
Riecken said, “I would like to thank Industrial Print for all the support. I would say to anyone of a more mature age that you are never too old to gain certification. It has been a rewarding experience.”
Savas Mystakidis, managing director of sponsor Heidelberg presented Reicken with his award, and said, “Congratulations to Heiko. Heidelberg has been sponsoring this award from 1972. We believe in the necessity of high-quality training in the print industry. We are pleased to be able to play a part in supporting that. Well done to Steve Scott and the whole team at Industrial Print.”
The LIA Heidelberg Graduate of the Year is usually revealed at the National Print Awards event, which this year was online thank to Covid. Mitch Mulligan said, “Given there was no physical event this year due to Covid-19, it was decided that it would take place at the winner's place of employment.”
It’s been quite a year for 60-year-old family- owned Industrial Print, which spent Christmas battling bushfires, with staff working quickly to protect the premises, which at point was under siege with red hot embers flying in every direction, as a mountainside fire raged just 200m away.
The Award is the longest running continuous award of the Institute, dating back to 1972, when it was known as the LIA Apprentice of the Year – sponsored by Seligson and Clare, then the Heidelberg agents in Australia. This award is presented annually in each mainland state at special award presentation dinners. Heidelberg provides handsome award plaques to the winners and certificates to the employer.
The winning graduate in each state is chosen by a highly qualified judging panel of LIA members. The candidates are put forward by TAFE teaching staff as the pick of the bunch in their particular stream. There are usually four to eight such candidates in each state, generally covering the spectrum of the printing trades.
Every two years Heidelberg funds the air fares and accommodation of the winning state graduates to the LIA’s biennial conference. There, apart from active participation in the conference programme, they are individually interviewed by a national judging panel of eminent industry leaders, and a winner is selected to receive the Visual Connections – LIA National Graduate Scholarship Prize.
Print21 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 29