Andrew Macaulay, the new head of Printing Industries, has wasted no time in getting out across the country to meet members of the national organisation, kicking off his second week in the job with visits to Queensland and Adelaide before planned trips over the next couple of weeks to Melbourne, Perth and Tasmania.
Talking time out to speak while driving between back-to-back meetings at printing businesses around Adelaide on Thursday, Macaulay described his first couple of weeks in the job as "terrific and very positive."
Between jokes about the driving skills of Mary Jo Fisher from the PIAA Adelaide office, Macaulay said everyone he had met so far had very eager to move forward.
"We started in Brisbane at the beginning of the week and today we've had meetings all around Adelaide. Mary Jo has been extremely helpful here and all of the members I've met have presented good ideas about exactly what they're looking for from the organisation."
"I'll fly back to Sydney on Friday to catch my breath, then we're off to Melbourne next week for the AGM and the National Print Awards, then over to Perth the following week, then back to Melbourne and Tasmania. There's a very full schedule being planned by state managers.
"I want to immerse myself in the industry and understand exactly what the members need so we can put together a plan to advance the sector. One thing that has come across already is that the industry is not being helped by some government purchasing policies. There's an enormous amount of competition in the sector and there are certainly people who are hurting but there's also a lot of people who are talking about finding opportunity in adversity. I don't want to sound glib but I'm very encouraged by the ideas that I'm hearing."