NSW printer Printit has hired 78-year-old Elgin Luke as its new salesman, with owner Jeff Roberts saying he is well known and well respected within the printing community.
Roberts says, “I hired him two weeks ago basically for his personal presentation, good communication, giving the perception of being reliable, highly experienced and industry knowledge. Also, the fact he can relate to people of all ages.”
Roberts says in the current industry older staff can relate to a wider variety of clients, “You will find that in the industry we specialise in we are dealing with a lot of younger marketing people who would give time to a senior person.”
He does believe it is hard for someone older to get a job, “I am 65 so I can relate, if I went out to try and get a job in a production environment, I could not handle the physical side of it and if I went to get a job in an administrative environment it would be the case of sorry you are too old.
“I have had people say to me that for people who have applied for certain situations they were too old but it was not said to their face. It is definitely implied that a person is not acceptable and not up to speed with tech, which is not the case all the time as my father-in-law is 87 and he is an internet junkie.”
[Related: Qld printer raises prices without losing customers]
Located in the NSW Qld border town of Yamba Printit has four staff, with a four colour Shinohara 52, GTO 52 single colour, and has now installed a new generation Ricoh 5200 digital, which Roberts calls ‘brilliant’. Printit is the first company in Australia to install a Screen 4600E CTP, it also has a MBO folder and 2015 three-station Horizon stitchline.
Roberts says Printit is a self-sufficient shop, with predominately short to medium four colour work as its core activity. It works with real estate agencies and in the political arena.
Last month it was uncovered 59-year-old Dave Marshall, former Fujifilm COO is suing his previous CEO and chairman over ageism, as he claims both men sought to exclude him from high-level client and executive meetings and decisions, moved him to smaller offices, and disconnected him from his email, and that the chairman, and he says Fujifilm senior executives repeatedly made discriminatory comments about his age.
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