Fresh from its announcement of plans to offer trade services for the whole print process, OCA has bought Australia’s biggest trade binder, The Bindery.

The acquisition, which was completed last night, will see the leading Melbourne finishing house continue at its Mt Waverly site under former managing director Rob Dunnett, who has run the business since 2005 and will become general manager.

OCA chief executive Naresh Gulati says finishing has been a ‘choke point’ in OCA’s production so acquiring a finishing house was a logical step towards being able to offer clients more services, in line with his ambitious trade vision.

“This is another step towards saving the Australian print industry and will allow us to service it better,” he says.

“I chose The Bindery over its competitors because it is the most reputable finishing house in Australia and we only want the best.”

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Gulati says he will soon upgrade equipment at The Bindery and add new kit to increase its capacity, and will evaluate the business over the next few weeks. Dunnett says all 50 staff are ‘fully required’ at present.

Dunnett says he and Gulati approached each other about an acquisition a few months ago and he was drawn to Gulati’s vision for the industry’s future.

“I’m excited about the opportunities he wants to provide to the industry and am happy to be working with someone who sincerely wants to help the trade,” he says.

Dunnett expects significant business to flow into The Bindery from OCA’s printing operations including Print Bound and BPO Intelligence, and says planned investment will make it more competitive with overseas.

“My biggest competitor is China and Naresh wants to bring work from there back to Australia, which is good for all of us,” he says.

Dunnett says the deal came at a good time as two other shareholders in The Bindery, who were not involved in its operations, were unsure of their future interest and can now go their separate ways.

The Bindery is one of few finishing houses in the country to offer a comprehensive range of trade services from binding to folding and cutting. It was involved in the print finishing of three National Print Award gold winners this year.

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