Letters, feedback, get it off your chest: 4 March 2008
There's no shortage of letters this week; from the passing of Ron Hoolahan to Blue Star news.
Re: Blue Star debt threat puts company at risk
Your article and its inference is simply incorrect. Our interim accounts published to the NZX will make this obvious. There is no truth at all in your unfounded assertion that this matter puts our company at risk. On the contrary we have commitment for continued support from our key equity sponsors and enjoy continued support of our lenders.
Chris Mitchell
CEO Blue Star
It’s about time the Foreign Review Board and the ACCC looked at the national interest when overseas companies choose to raid Australian-owned companies.
With an economy that has 73 per cent of its imports consisting of manufactured goods, we are extremely vulnerable to any loss of employment.
The power wielded by multi nationals and large corporations is a recipe for disaster as evidenced by Woolworths and the decline of competition.
Garry Clifford
If the company turned over 490 million and made a 2.3 per cent profit that shows that they are doing lots of unprofitable work.
These big guys are cutting there own throats by continually doing things cheaper and believing that price is the only sellable point.
Neil Maynard
It was a lot more than 40 staff made redundant.
A lot of them were long time and loyal employees of J S McMillan.
Very heartbreaking.
Kerry Clarkson
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Re: Graphic World boss, Ron Hoolahan, passes away
Management & Staff of Standard Publishing House (Aust) Pty. Ltd were saddened to hear of Ron Hoolahan’s passing.
Our sincere condolences to his family
Gina Turner
General Manager, Standard Publishing House Aust Pty Ltd
Last Thursday the Sydney printing industry looked more like an extended family mourning the loss of one of its own, as suppliers, former employees and even competitors gathered to show their respects for a gentleman of the industry.
Ron was not the most outgoing or extroverted type you were ever likely to meet. A rather quiet, even shy man, he was probably the one they had in mind when someone wrote that "still waters run deep", or that he "hid his light under a bushell".
Cliches aside, Ron was obviously a warm-hearted and caring individual - "a quiet achiever" (sorry, no more cliches).
As someone said on the day, for a man who shunned the limelight, he became the center of attention last week. And in some ways his passing marks a watershed as our industry transitions from "family-style" owner/operator businesses to larger, more impersonal "corporatised" models.
But even in death, Ron speaks to us about certain lessons of life that we only fail to grasp at our peril.
1) That "nice guys" CAN win, in terms of building a business based upon caring about staff,
2) That there is a "work/life" balance - and Ron may NOT have got that quite right by coming in at 5am and leaving at 7pm,
3) That one SHOULD have regular health-checks, particularly at "our age" (whatever that may be), and
4) That if you see a geontosaurus lumbering up the bank and into the meadow, do not be afraid, just charge them for all you're worth - they're really quite harmless!
Vale, Ron.
James Cryer
My commisserations and regards to his family.
Ray McCredden
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Re: GBC print finishing sold to Indian film giant
As well as GBC film division being a producer of laminating films, it promoted re-branded GMP Korean machines in the USA & Australia.
GMP is a competitor of GBC outside of the USA by past agreement and definitely a competitor of Cosmo. Most GBC clients in the USA thought that GBC made a lot of the laminators, when in fact they were produced in Korea by GMP who kept out of the States.
Cosmo only have a limited machine range. So the question is now, how do the GBC outlets of film get on with sourcing machines in future? Their strength was selling systems that included GMP/GBC laminators. I doubt that GMP will entertain increasing Cosmo’s presence worldwide. Will be an interesting battle.
Derek Wright
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Re: Book machine misses the fine print - Print 21 magazine article
I enjoyed the article on the EBM that Mitchell wrote.
Thanks for posting the story.
Ed Hewer