With a glimpse of Spring in the air, we can finally say goodbye to Winter. With the change of seasons also comes changes in the industry. It was sad to see the closing of the Demonstration Centre at Heidelberg’s head office in Toronto. These last few years have been about tightening our belts, and prioritizing what to keep and what to let go. The good news is that Heidelberg’s sales and service centres are still operating at full capacity and will now increase focus and investment in its consumables business.
After spending some time in the past few months in the U.S., I am glad that I live in Canada. Yes, we have been hit here, but not to the extent that our friends south of the border have. There is no point in us shrouding ourselves in negativity. Has it been tough? Yes. But this is the time that we realize that tough times don’t last – tough people do. It is time to believe in ourselves and our industry. We must be diligent in our business dealings as well. There are companies in this industry who have lived beyond their budgets and circumstances and are no longer able to pay their bills. Their inability to pay their bills has crippled the cash flow of others. They seem unable to see their ripple effect, and we must now be prudent to only accept business from stable companies that are willing to practice in an ethical business manner. It is the unethical practices that will be the stumbling block in our industry moving forward. For too long, a poor paying customer has been able to easily move to a competing supplier – we must stop accepting work with desperation, but rather accept work that makes good business sense. Once the dead wood is cleared out of the industry, the industry can thrive again.
We are always looking for better ways to service our customers. Of recent, auditing costs have escalated. So we are investigating and seriously looking at a Canadian audit firm; Canadian Media Circulation Audit. CMCA is recognized by the Canadian government and Heritage Canada.
Congratulations to Ryerson’s GCM students on winning the Kipphan Cup. The winning 160-page publication contained five Ryerson students’ research papers. The industry sponsors who contributed to this success should also be thanked; IAPHC, Imation, Fujifilm, Lowe-Martin, Webcom and York Bindery.
There is a change of attitude happening in our industry. Companies such as Boehmer Box are starting to loosen their purse strings and once again invest in their businesses. Boehmer Box, based in Kitchener Ontario, has recently invested over $10 million into its new 320,000 square-foot-facility; part of their investment is a KBA 142 – 56 inch, 6-colour press to enhance its packaging operation.
The other good news is that Transcontinental reports its first quarter profits of over $26 million after having a loss of $6 million in the same period last year. We’ve turned the corner and the glass is no longer half empty; it’s half full.
As always, stay positive and stay focused
Joe Mulcahy
joe@graphicartsmag.com
