Managing director of Ability Press in Melbourne Docklands is accused of lying to his partners over last year’s high profile merger.
A fierce row and accusations of lying are at the root of the dramatic departure of Wu with his former partners, Aboughattas brothers, Moody and Abbey, trying to keep the business together. The former managing director of the merged corporate entity, which took over the Mercedes Waratah premises in Docklands last year, was shown the door this week.
When contacted by Print21, Wu said: "Sorry, but I don't have any comment at this stage. Sorry about that. Thank you for calling."
A receptionist at the company who answered the phone as ‘Mercedes Waratah’ confirmed Wu's departure from the business.
"He's not here. He's no longer working here. I'm sorry but we can't give you any further information."
The departure of Wu is the latest chapter in one of the more audacious merger/consolidations in Melbourne printing during recent times. Only last year Wu merged his Ability Press and On Demand businesses with Aboughatta’s Docklands Press with the intention of moving into the Todisco family-owned premises in Lorimer Street, Docklands.
The new entity, the Docklands Ability Group, consolidated presses from Ability as well as taking over the existing equipment on-site of Mercedes Waratah. Further investments in digital presses created one of the most powerful production plants in the Melbourne industry.
However, there is no mention of the merged entity on the Ability Press website, nor on the Docklands Press website.
Fierce cutthroat pricing quickly became a recognised feature of the new company with some competitive printers complaining about the impact on the market. Details of the complex financials were never made public but there are indications that Wu was financed from China. Earlier reports emphasized that the neither Michael nor Lenny Todisco, had any role in running the new operation.