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Profile
is going well, and we are looking
to further our growth through acquisitions in the near future, and with new digital initiatives and solutions like this for our customers,” Finkelde says.
After 20 years with AAB, and decades prior to that with different print companies, Finkelde is one of the great survivors of the industry. And, of course, has seen monumental changes. He says, “The publications market is dropping, AusPost has done it no favours with its pricing policy. It used to be 30c to send out
a magazine, today it is five times
that amount, sometimes the mailing cost is more than the printing cost. We are, like all printers these days, super-efficient, but AusPost is killing the market for all of us, in relation to any mailed product.”
As one of the great survivors, Finkelde has seen plenty of his peers leave the industry, their businesses either folding, being sold, or in his early days at AAB bought by the Champ and Gresham funds. So, what makes AAB stand out, and continue to be a relevant business? He says,
“I think it’s because of the product offering, we’re pretty diverse. It’s not always about offset, offset sometimes had very good months, and is then supported by very good packaging,
or digital month, or warehousing and operations. You put that all together and it’s a complete offering, so if you’re a standalone offset business like some of the businesses were, yes you probably would have struggled, and we have seen some of them go by the wayside.”
Over the past 20 years Finkelde and the team have looked to enhance and vertically integrate within the business segments. Labels have new presses, large format digital has new equipment, and there have been offset upgrades in bindery.
Most of our embellishments we’re doing inhouse. Perfect binding or PUR binding. Everything is basically done inhouse, we tried to vertically integrate as best we can. You have to be in control of your own destiny,” Finkelde says.
“And the days of sending work out, having someone put a margin on it – and then you’re putting a margin on it – they are gone.”
What has not gone are the major clients or their spend. Finkelde says, “We have not seen much in terms of spending change during Covid from the larger top 25 clients. It has tended to be the tail, customers that are spending less than 10 or 20 grand a year.”
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The value that AAB companies provides to its clients is in the breadth of product that the company provides. Finkelde says, “The offset market is pretty well commoditised these days, so it’s a race to the bottom, we’re all conscious that this is a price-driven market. One of our advantages that we can do is everything inhouse;
we can print, fold, bind, mail and distribute all in house, although others in the market have the same. But, in terms of when you want to
sell to a much larger customer, then our capabilities really come to the fore. So if you want large format, you want digital, you want personalised product, you want packaging, product labels, die cutting, assembly, we do
it all, we take care of all their needs. We assemble, we fulfill, we send everything out as a complete product.”
Then, there is its growing warehousing business, which
has plenty of clients who have no print requirement. It’s a straight warehouse and logistics business: storage, pick and pack and deliver. The group also has FM supplies division, where it can supply clients with basically anything they want.
It is not printing, it is another string in the bow, and it is serving AAB well. Finkelde says, “We have four offices in China, where we source our product. You can either go for the overseas price and wait weeks, or you can source it locally. We don’t do too much of the overseas sourcing in the print space.”
Manufacturing runs 24 hours a
day, five days a week, as standard, although there was, of course, a dip at the height of Covid, but it is now back to more or less normal. AAB was quick to respond to Covid. Finkelde says, “We jumped onto that bandwagon pretty quick back in late March, and made some direct decisions.”
Now the next step is to re-equip Alexandria with digital technology, with the company looking at both cutsheet and reelfed inkjet systems. Finkelde says, “As the market requires shorter run products, we need to match the technology with the service, quality, and price point that customers are seeking both now and in the future.
“Now we’re looking at upgrading that technology, Some of it, we probably don’t need, and you know we looking at the overheads and footprint and all associated costs on that
site as well. You know, you have to continually look at your costs in these times and understand your costs.”
AAB says operating in diverse markets – including publishing, financial services, retail, tourism, entertainment, health, and pharmaceutical segments for domestic and international customers – has developed agility within its business model.
“We are fortunate with our business model to continue to work through this Covid period, and the business
“Today you have to be a total solutions provider and streamline costs. I think that’s where we fit in, we offer those solutions to many customers.” Wayne Finkelde
One of the big keys, says Finkelde, is to make customers’ lives easier. “You know the old adage about being a solutions provider, I think that’s true. Today you have to be a total solutions provider, and streamline costs. I think that’s where we fit in, we offer those solutions to many customers.”
The first 20 years at AAB has seen the company emerge from the pack to be one of the front runners, thank to the values and strategies Finkelde and his team have instigated and executed. The next 20 promise to
be equally momentous, and in ways we can’t yet imagine, but AAB is well set to meet the challenges and the evolving market demands. 21
Wayne Finkelde, CEO
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