Phone book printing stays in Australia

Sensis awards seven-year print contract to PMP for its Yellow and White Pages.

The news comes as a major relief for many printers who have feared that the printing may be sent overseas after Sensis’ decision to print some of its Yellow In The Car Directories in Asia.

The seven-year contract, which officially commenced on 1 July this year, will see PMP printing a total of 96 metropolitan and regional Yellow Pages and White Pages directories each year.

Expected to generate $50 million of revenue in its first year, the Sensis contract also allows PMP to upgrade its printing facility at Chullora, New South Wales. Discussions are still taking place, but Richard Allely (pictured), CEO of PMP said that the company would be installing “equipment that adds functionality in the finishing area.”

Michael Richardson, Sensis general manager service and delivery, said that he was happy to extend Sensis’ long-running partnership with PMP. “We are particularly pleased that our investment supports an Australian manufacturing company,” he said.

Phone books have come under a great deal of criticism recently, but according to Allely, volumes are still strong and expected to stay that way. “In the case of White Pages, volumes are actually up because there are more households and a regulatory requirement to make sure that houses get them [phonebooks],” he said. “There is no question that small-to-medium enterprises that choose not to be part of the Yellow Pages do so at their own peril.”

Allely also dismissed criticism that the internet had quashed the need for phone books. “There are still a significant number of houses in Australia without internet access,” he added.

He predicts that it will be over 80 years before phone books cease to be required. “It will be generations until you see Yellow Pages not being a feature in our lives,” Allely said.