Todisco brothers cut links to go their own way
End of an era for Melbourne printing as Frank Todisco’s sons – Michael, Lenny and Peter – split the prominent family business to “see who can make the most money on our own.”
The unexpected decision brings to an end the long-running lockout saga of Lorimer Street, Docklands. It sees PrintLinx, M&M Binders and Tasmania-based Print Applied Technologies operate as three separate businesses, trading under various names.
According to Michael Todisco, who has inherited the PrintLinx brand, the decision is an amicable split between the three brothers. They are all heading off in friendly rivalry to see who will prove most successful.
“We’re very fortunate in having the businesses. We don’t owe anything on the equipment,” he said. “We all started with the business when we were 15 or 16. I’ve been here 15 years, my brother's 25. It’s not like we don’t know the industry. It’s just that my brothers and I decided to see how we would go on our own.”
The sundered $20-million group will retain the original business names but trade under a variety of identities;
• Mercedes Waratah Group under Michael’s control retains the PrintLinx brand while trading as Mercedes Waratah Press and John D Harris & Co
• Lenny Todisco takes M&M Binders in Hall Street (around the corner), and will trade as DAJ Plastics
• Peter Todisco gets Print Applied Technology in Tasmania, (the former Government printer) which will continue to trade under its own name.
Mercedes Waratah moved back into the Lorimer Street site last Tuesday under a confidential leasing agreement with the landlords. The original PrintLinx was locked out of the premises over a dispute on drainage repairs and bond confiscation.
“We’re back in business. It’s business as usual with the same staff, same everything,” said Michael Todisco. “We’re putting the past behind us and looking to the future.”
One of the messier incidents in the past he will be glad to put behind him is the PrintLinx takeover of failed Energi Print, which has become the subject of long-running and bitter legal wrangles. It is Michael’s belief the family was “hard done by” in the affair.
He confirmed the purchase by Mercedes Waratah of an Agfa Anapurna wide-format inkjet and said he is looking to move further into digital.
And what of patriarch Frank Todisco’s role in the businesses?
“Frank is our father, he loves the business,” said Michael. “He’ll be an advisor to all of us but he won’t be active in running the companies. He brought us up never to do the wrong thing. Now we’re head down to make it all a success.”