Macdonald & Masterson will be integrated into Southern Colour’s St Leonards, Sydney site.
Peter Bounas (pictured), director and co-owner of Macdonald & Masterson, told ProPrint the deal was as a “marriage of convenience”. He said pairing with Southern Colour represented a chance to grow his company’s equipment and certification base quickly.
Bounas said the company was particularly attracted to Southern Colour’s use of two Heidelberg A1 presses, as well as its ISO certifications for proofing and OH&S, and FSC and PEFC certifications.
“We felt it was more practical to merge with someone who already had what we wanted,” he said.
“Rather than us trying to reinvest in additional equipment to move the company forward in the future – say, by acquiring a second press or upgrading our CTP – and get all the environmental accreditations they’ve got, we though it would be more efficient to merge and get there straight away rather than trying to create all that by ourselves,” explained Bounas.
Details of the merger are still being finalised, as Macdonald & Masterson gets set to move from its headquarters in the suburb of Botany. The process is expected to be completed within two weeks.
It is understood that most of Macdonald & Masterson’s 24 staff will be offered positions at Southern Colour, with a particular focus on the sales staff.
It is also considered unlikely that much of Macdonald & Masterson’s equipment will make the trip to St Leonards. The company is in discussions with second-hand equipment dealer As New Machinery to unload any unwanted kit.
Macdonald & Masterson currently houses a five-colour Komori Lithrone 540 press and Heidleberg GTO 52, as well as a variety of pre-press and finishing equipment
It has been in operation since the 1930s. Peter and Harry Bounas purchased the company from Don Masterson in 1983.
The printer has been a regular entrant in the NSW and National Print Awards, and picked up a gold award at last year’s NSW Print Excellence Awards in the ‘Booklets Catalogues & Magazines (Bound by any method but saddle-stitching)’ category.
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