Executive director Andrew Price has replaced Dave Allen as chief executive and also becomes managing director of the group. Allen will remain with the business for a handover period until the end of the year. The move marks an astonishing trajectory for Price, who began mobilising a group of shareholders in the group in 2010/2011. He subsequently became executive director of the business a year ago and has since masterminded a major restructure at the paper merchant. “A lot of the heavy lifting has now been executed and we’re now in the implementation phase,” Price told PrintWeek. “Dave leaves with our absolute best wishes, he has been an utter professional and has worked very hard to get the business where it is now.” Losses at the group were slashed from A$266.7m (£156m) to A$90.2m in the year to June 2013, on sales down nearly 15% to A$2.8bn. Price said his focus now would be to implement plans that would return the business to profitability in its current financial year. “We’ll be rolling out some new initiatives in the UK in the next 30-60 days,” he stated. “I’m hoping our customers can see we’ve woken up and Paperlinx is back – we’ve got our mojo back! Our staff are also seeing the difference and we’ve got some really motivated and fired up people out there.” Price also said he hoped to make an announcement regarding Paperlinx’s hybrid shareholders in the next few weeks. Paperlinx is obliged to buy back the hybrids if it wishes to alter the company’s capital structure. Graham Critchley, who is the convenor of a group of Paperlinx hybrid shareholders, said: “It just could be the case that Andrew is sufficiently left of field to make the sort of changes that will really return profits.” Allen will receive a termination payment of 12 months’ pay, while Price’s new remuneration package will involve a base salary of A$751,000 plus an incentive plan....

For two days on 9 and 10 October wide-format printers are being invited to Agfa’s Leeds showroom for a series of live demonstrations and talks on how to use the Anapurna M2050 to increase and diversify their offer. The 2m UV-curable inkjet device has eight 12 picolitre heads, a top speed of 53m/hr and is capable of 720×1,440dpi on uncoated rigid media. It offers six colours and white ink, which i-Sub digital director Andy Spreag says will open new doors for wide-format business owners. “We really think the M2050 is the best in its class and genuinely affordable for businesses planning to spread their wings,” he said. “This is a great opportunity to see the device in action, as well as to pick the brains of the experts.” Visitors to the open days are invited to bring their own files for printing and will also see cutting and finishing demonstrations on a Zund cutting table. The days are split into morning and afternoon sessions with lunch and refreshments provided. Places are limited. For more information contact www.i-subopenday.com. i-sub Digital is also planning similar events showcasing Mimaki and Zund equipment, although further details are not yet available....

Executive director Andrew Price has replaced Dave Allen as chief executive and also becomes managing director of the group. Allen will remain with the business for a handover period until the end of the year. The move marks an astonishing trajectory for Price, who began mobilising a group of shareholders in the group in 2010/2011. He subsequently became executive director of the business a year ago and has since masterminded a major restructure at the paper merchant. “A lot of the heavy lifting has now been executed and we’re now in the implementation phase,” Price told PrintWeek. “Dave leaves with our absolute best wishes, he has been an utter professional and has worked very hard to get the business where it is now.” Losses at the group were slashed from A$266.7m (£156m) to A$90.2m in the year to June 2013, on sales down nearly 15% to A$2.8bn. Price said his focus now would be to implement plans that would return the business to profitability in its current financial year. “We’ll be rolling out some new initiatives in the UK in the next 30-60 days,” he stated. “I’m hoping our customers can see we’ve woken up and Paperlinx is back – we’ve got our mojo back! Our staff are also seeing the difference and we’ve got some really motivated and fired up people out there.” Price also said he hoped to make an announcement regarding Paperlinx’s hybrid shareholders in the next few weeks. Paperlinx is obliged to buy back the hybrids if it wishes to alter the company’s capital structure. Graham Critchley, who is the convenor of a group of Paperlinx hybrid shareholders, said: “It just could be the case that Andrew is sufficiently left of field to make the sort of changes that will really return profits.” Allen will receive a termination payment of 12 months’ pay, while Price’s new remuneration package will involve a base salary of A$751,000 plus an incentive plan....

Abstract, registered under holding company Colne VCS, only became part of Annodata in January 2012 when it merged with Annodata’s print division and handed over a 50% stake in the business. “Abstract simply ran out of cash,” said Pureprint chief executive Mark Handford. “They had been trying to market it for several months but it went down in the end. We were one of seven looking to buy it. In the end two of us bid and fortunately we won.” The £6m-turnover Bedfordshire-based POS and packaging printer was put into administration with Wilkins Kennedy on 2 September and sold to Pureprint on the same day. All 49 jobs have been retained with former managing director Alan Harbison becoming general manager of Abstract’s 2,787sqm facility in Houghton Regis. Commenting on the deal, partner at Wilkins Kennedy Stephen Grant, said: “As is not unusual with printing companies the order book can be erratic. And in a business with high capital investment costs, and in the short term a fixed staff base, a decline in orders and therefore sales can have a significant negative effect on a business. “The directors of the company sought insolvency advice, and, having reviewed the options, they believed that an administration sale would give the best return to creditors.” He added: “The transition to Pureprint has been seamless, that is the beauty of a pre-pack in that it keeps work going and people in jobs.” Following the acquisition the business will continue as a separate trading company under the name Abstract – a Pureprint Company. Handford said that ultimately the company would be rebranded after an initial period of bedding in. He added: “Usually after something like this people expect cutbacks but we want to grow this side of the business straight away. We will be investing in large format digital kit very quickly. We’re in negotiations with three parties with announcements due in around two weeks. “ New finishing equipment would also be installed to cope with the added output, he added. The acquisition forms part of a growth strategy for Pureprint and Handford said Abstract was a perfect match. “We were looking for another Speedmaster XL105 anyway which they have, we have the same MIS and workflow and we both use Indigo presses. Also we have opened a CAD department around creative packaging and Abstract has the same, so we hope we can develop that because the growth in this area is enormous. “It really fits with our strategy of growing into the creative packaging and POS world,” Handford said. Completion of the deal last week has brought the Pureprint Group’s projected turnover for 2013/2014 to £36m with a workforce of 275, and Handford said...

Abstract, registered under holding company Colne VCS, only became part of Annodata in January 2012 when it merged with Annodata’s print division and handed over a 50% stake in the business. “Abstract simply ran out of cash,” said Pureprint chief executive Mark Handford. “They had been trying to market it for several months but it went down in the end. We were one of seven looking to buy it. In the end two of us bid and fortunately we won.” The £6m-turnover Bedfordshire-based POS and packaging printer was put into administration with Wilkins Kennedy on 2 September and sold to Pureprint on the same day. All 49 jobs have been retained with former managing director Alan Harbison becoming general manager of Abstract’s 2,787sqm facility in Houghton Regis. Commenting on the deal, partner at Wilkins Kennedy Stephen Grant, said: “As is not unusual with printing companies the order book can be erratic. And in a business with high capital investment costs, and in the short term a fixed staff base, a decline in orders and therefore sales can have a significant negative effect on a business. “The directors of the company sought insolvency advice, and, having reviewed the options, they believed that an administration sale would give the best return to creditors.” He added: “The transition to Pureprint has been seamless, that is the beauty of a pre-pack in that it keeps work going and people in jobs.” Following the acquisition the business will continue as a separate trading company under the name Abstract – a Pureprint Company. Handford said that ultimately the company would be rebranded after an initial period of bedding in. He added: “Usually after something like this people expect cutbacks but we want to grow this side of the business straight away. We will be investing in large format digital kit very quickly. We’re in negotiations with three parties with announcements due in around two weeks. “ New finishing equipment would also be installed to cope with the added output, he added. The acquisition forms part of a growth strategy for Pureprint and Handford said Abstract was a perfect match. “We were looking for another Speedmaster XL105 anyway which they have, we have the same MIS and workflow and we both use Indigo presses. Also we have opened a CAD department around creative packaging and Abstract has the same, so we hope we can develop that because the growth in this area is enormous. “It really fits with our strategy of growing into the creative packaging and POS world,” Handford said. Completion of the deal last week has brought the Pureprint Group’s projected turnover for 2013/2014 to £36m with a workforce of 275, and Handford said...