GEON moves to single-site print operation in Sydney

The former Dynamic Press operation at Dee Why is the latest printing facility to close as industry consolidation gathers pace.

The final step in GEON’s takeover odyssey through the Sydney market sees the old van Heeren business absorbed into the ever-growing production complex at Banksmeadow. A sales and customer service office will remain on the peninsular while all bindery and despatch personnel, together with over 15 pressroom staff, will transfer across.

In a press statement the company says that due to the recent efficiencies being gained in the Banksmeadow and Dee Why pressrooms, a minimal number of print production roles will not be transferred.

According to Graham Morgan, (pictured) managing director GEON, the move will help maintain full production at the Banksmeadow site. “This announcement continues the development of our Banksmeadow site into a leading production facility – a facility that has recently returned to 24-hour/six-day shift patterns in the pressroom; that will integrate over 20 roles from Dee Why to create one of the largest Bindery functions in the Sydney region with over 80 employees.”

The move to close Dee Why was long anticipated and continues the company’s strategy of consolidation, which has seen the disappearance of many well-known Sydney printing brands. The plan is to make Banksmeadow into a world-class facility. It follows the company's move topwards single-site production in the other capital cities.

“Being able to integrate our capacity in one site makes a lot of business sense and has been achieved by the efforts of both our Dee Why and Banksmeadow employees whom I would like to personally thank for their continued support,” said Morgan. “Our focus is on delivering great customer service, more capacity under a single-roof offering, streamlined processes, output consistency and reduced operational costs leveraging from best in class print technologies.”

The plan is for all production capability to be transferred into the Banksmeadow site by September. It will leave fulfilment and mailing business, AP Mail in Parramatta, as GEON’s sole remaining Sydney production site outside Banksmeadow.

The Dee Why site is a custom-built printing factory that was regarded as a modern icon of the industry when completed by the van Heeran brothers in 2006. It still has an impressive bank of large offset presses whose fate is unclear. GEON bought the blue chip printing business in 2007.