Bookbinding niche in Sydney is tempting to The Bindery

The vandalism of Graphic Bookbinding’s perfect binder has left the harbour city light on in capacity, according to Rob Dunnett.

The forced downtime at the long established Kingsgrove print finishing company, operated by Emma Freelingos, follows a ferocious nighttime trashing of the premises two months ago. The disabling of much of the equipment has opened an opportunity for the Melbourne-based company, The Bindery, to set up in NSW. According to Dunnett he is surveying the market with a view to expanding.

Responding in a Print21 phone call, he confirmed he is looking at the market. “We are well down the track looking at the Sydney market. It’s not anything I’d like to put a date on but it is a possibility,’ he said.

A move by The Bindery to the Sydney market would be sure to spark intense competition in the finishing sector. Dunnett would not be drawn on how he would enter the market.

Phone calls to Graphic Bookbinding to check on the company’s progress went unanswered. The motive behind the extraordinary act of vandalism of the premises is still unexplained. Among the equipment damaged were two guillotines, three folders, a relatively new saddle stitching line and a Muller Martini Acoro perfect binder.