Lessons from the train wreck – Cryer calls industry to account

Now that the last piece of falling debris has hit the ground from the recent implosion of some of our largest printing companies, industry gadfly, James Cryer, reckons it’s time to take stock of what lessons may be learned from the debacle.

After traumatic experiences, it’s helpful to hold a post-mortem. I don’t mean a blood-letting, but a constructive analysis of what lessons we’ve gained – a bit like trying to draw good out of evil. One critical issue recently raised by Heidelberg is how should we manage credit within the industry? Too loose and it leads to unbridled profligacy a la Geon; too tight and it strangles good businesses who may go through a tough patch.

I suspect there are plenty of lessons to be learned. And just as importantly there are vital questions that need to be answered:  –

•  How do we control/manage credit?  ie, how tough should we be – a 60 day limit?
•  Should there be an industry bad credit-risk register?
• Is there a template to follow if a company tries another phoenix/pre-pack trick?
•  What sanctions (if any) may be brought against a “delinquent” company?
•  Are there still too many printing companies and should we reduce their number?
•  And if so, how? The Brits did this through their own association (the BPIF) some years ago.
• Can we become better managers as a result of this episode?
•  What do we expect from our association leaders in terms of public statements during such crises?
• What is the attitude of the associations (especially the PIAA) to redundancies that were apparently “disgraceful and cold-hearted”? Does the PIAA turn a blind eye when one of its members is a guilty party?
•  What does the PIAA think of supplier embargoes? Did it agree with the real hero of the day, Stephen Anstice?
•  What do we as an industry think about the unions publically lambasting Geon for bad management and poor handling of redundancies (maybe the unions have a point).
• What are the wider ramifications on paper prices – and of QBE possibly increasing its premiums?
• What sort of image does this recent crisis send to school-leavers considering a career in print? – and finally…
•  Perhaps we as a truly broad-based industry, should join forces with the packaging and signage sectors to produce a website proclaiming the exciting career opportunities in print.

During the crisis, we only heard one voice expressing moral outrage, that of the head of Hannanprint, who could be accused of having a vested interest. However, in this case Hannanprint’s motives aligned with the greater good of the industry in calling for an end to the neat disappearing trick that was about to be attempted.

At no time did we hear from the PIAA . But it’s not too late. It now has a strong leadership and a desire to re-build our industry. It would be no bad thing to convene a PIAA-lead workshop addressing some of the above issues. As Kerry Packer would have said: “You only get one Geon in a lifetime.” Let’s make the most of it. Unless there is some formal leadership/initiative on this, all the bloodshed may have been in vain and we’ll return to our old bad habits.