Leading Australasian paper, packaging and print media distributor Ball & Doggett has announced a major expansion into New Zealand with the acquisition of leading wide format supplier Aarque Graphics.
Auckland-based Aarque, established in 1948, is an independent supplier of large and small format copying and printing technology, consumables and service, partnering with hardware companies including HP, Epson, Canon and Roland and consumable manufacturers including Mactac and 3M.
Current joint Aarque CEO’s Leo and Jason Bult were appointed in 2014. “Aarque endeavours to supply everything a company needs to be at the cutting edge of technology, delivery upon a policy of excellence in supply, range and service,” said Leo Bult.
The deal was welcomed by BJ Ball NZ general manager Richard Hislop as providing both companies with the widest range in the industry.
Aarque has nationwide sales and technical expertise in a diverse range of industries, including: Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Signage and Screen Print, Pre-Press and Proofing, Print Bureaus and Copy Shops, Exhibition and Retail Display, Graphic Design and Advertising, Fine Art and Photography, Dye Sublimation and Textile.
The deal is the first major purchase for the newly enlarged Ball & Doggett entity since the former BJ Ball and K.W. Doggett Fine Paper businesses were combined in April last year in a takeover agreement put together by leading global pulp and paper company Japan Pulp & Paper (JPP), which has a 51% stake in the new entity.
Pulp and paper industry analyst Tim Woods of IndustryEdge said last year that the deal would see the Japanese parent company bring its diversified business model to Australia.
“When JPP arrives in Australia and New Zealand as the majority owner of the newly merged BJ Ball and KW Doggett, the venerable merchant, manufacturer and converter will bring with it an increasingly diversified business model, spreading its reach beyond the world of paper and paperboard.”