Knespal (pictured, right) attended the second ‘Trade in Services Congress’, attended by more than 2,000 trade services representatives and featuring presentations from organisations such as the World Bank.
The Chinese government’s attitude resonated with Knespal, particularly regarding the challenges facing the Chinese services sector.
“I was impressed with the very clear interest their government has in engaging foreign organisations,” Knespal told ProPrint.
“They were very open and very interested in the creative services sector, and I did not get the sense that they were intending for it to be a one-way street.”
Knespal said he had developed “strong contacts” in the Chinese print manufacturing sphere, but added that creative services had the most room for growth.
“There are opportunities for print manufacturing but it’s not the central focus,” he said. “We’re really looking at the ‘added value’ part of our graphic arts industry. We want to show how smart Australian graphic arts companies really are.”
GASAA is working with Austrade, Chinese trade officials, and several other organisations to set up a trade services ‘bureau’ to provide advice to firms looking for a presence in the Chinese market.
“There are a lot of clever printers in the digital area doing things like variable data printing and transpromo that I would expect the Chinese market to lap up,” Knespal said. “I mean, can you imagine doing a direct marketing campaign for a billion people?”
Meanwhile, the association also today announced four more companies certified to its Truly Green course.
Sydney printers Centrum Printing, Look Print, Snap Printing CBD, and Snap Printing Westpac have all now graduated from the Truly Green course, which helps companies land ISO 14001 certification.
Previous graduates include CDM Print, Digitalpress, Gippsland Trade Printers, and Shepson Printing.
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