Keeping the focus on green: Print21 magazine article

In the printing industry, David Fuller is an environmental leader, known for his innovative thinking and early adoption of sustainable practices. Mitchell Jordan finds out how his green thumb has transformed Greenloch Print Essentials a year on from its acquisition.

Printing has a reputation as a stinky industry. With a bad history when it comes to chemical safety, ‘printing’ and ‘clean’ are two words that don’t often go together. In my years as a graphic arts journalist, I have lost count of the printing plants I have visited, but few stand-out like Focus Press’ Mattraville plant where the smell is the first thing you notice; namely because there is none.

The one-time premises of Greenloch Print Essentials has undergone a substantial overhaul since David Fuller, the man behind Focus Press, bought the 37-year-old company’s assets when it ran into trouble in June last year.

The company’s collapse may have seemed sudden, especially with reports of a new press about to go in, but according to Fuller, he had been in talks with Greenloch for years. When the company went down, he saw it as an opportunity to expand and in doing so, bought the equipment from the receiver and took it over. He chose to keep over 30 of the original Greenloch staff on board, including general manager, Jason James and manager, Tom Szabo.

“Jason and Tom had been in the business for years and I wanted to make them a part of the business going forwards,” Fuller explains.

Pictured: The greening of Greenloch (l-r) David Fuller, Tom Szabo and Jason James.

There was never any intention to relocate the premises to South Strathfield, where the original Focus Press runs; Fuller saw advantages in keeping the site in Sydney’s south-west suburbs. “I chose to keep the site here because there is a good culture amongst all the staff,” he says.

Two separate sales teams exist and if there is a harmonious culture in South Strathfield and Mattraville, both sites still have notable differences that see Focus Press well positioned to offer a diverse product range. The two A2 Komori presses that Fuller inherited from Greenloch have proved – in his words “an eye-opener” while newly installed bindery equipment has also seen the company well placed for the future.

For long-time Greenloch manager, Tom Szabo, the transition has been a seamless one. “It’s no different really,” he says, “it’s the same building, same equipment and the same people.”

“It’s been a very good marriage,” Jason James adds.

Moving to greener pastures
One of Fuller’s first priorities when taking over the company was to convert Greenloch to more sustainable practices. This involved implementing a Compliance Project where, within the first 90 days, alcohol usage and any toxic chemistry was eliminated, QA workflows were installed and an environmental committee was established. At the time of writing, the business was in its fourth 90-day plan, bringing its one-year completion close to completion.

The results are many and varied and Fuller is proud to list significant cost savings as high among them. “At this site, we’ve saved $32,000 by getting rid of alcohol,” he says, adding that it isn’t just about the money. “Alcohol is the worst thing that a printer can use – it’s also better for the environment to be alcohol-free.”

Such development is hardly surprising from a man who has been involved in ‘green’ printing long before it became the in (or, in some cases, forced) thing for other printers to do. Ask Fuller about the company’s journey and he replies sardonically: “How much time do you have?”

In a nutshell, Focus Press began using vegetable-based inks in 1999. Not long after, it joined the EPA's Industry Partner Program, a government initiative to assist 'early adopters' in the environmental space.

In 2002, Focus Press implemented an Environmental Management System (EMS), which was later recognised as world-class when it gained ISO 14001 accreditation. Last year, the company received an achievement award at the NSW Dept of the Environment's Green Globe Awards, in praise of its environmental efforts to date.

Aside from greening-up Greenloch, Fuller has also been busy launching a Free Carbon campaign [www.freecarbon.com.au] which aims to offset all carbon throughout the entire printing supply chain.

“It’s a good marketing opportunity for us,” he says. “We’re about the only ones in the market who are offering this; it will allow us to stake out that ground and create a real point of difference.”

Taking over another company is a big task, let alone working on the Free Carbon project, but Fuller is experienced in both fields. Greenloch Print Essentials was not the first acquisition that Fuller made. In 2008, Gold Coast printer, Fast Proof Press, closed down its Sydney operation, which Fuller then snapped up. At the time, Fuller told Print21 that the purchase was “the beginning” of a new growth phase for Focus Press.

Would Fuller consider making any more acquisitions?

“Yes,” he answers, “if the right ones come up. This [former Greenloch] company has been a success; it is in profit and exceeding budget.”