Chief executive Cliff Brigstocke told ProPrint: “We wanted to wait until we reached a certain scale before bringing in someone this senior.”
Brigstocke said the company had not yet hit its $100m target, but should pass the milestone when it finalised “a further acquisition in play”, most likely next month.
The trans-Tasman business is also touting the major financial, M&A and governance credentials of new executive Ken Bugden, whose CV includes a senior role at NZ energy company Mighty River Power and the CFO job at New Zealand’s leading waste services company.
Brigstocke said that while Bugden had no print industry background, “we’re powering up to be a large group and Ken has experience running large groups”.
Bugden will be stationed in New Zealand, adding further weight to Opus’ growth drive in the nation. New Zealand general managers will continue to run their own businesses, reporting directly to Brigstocke.
“Having Ken based in Auckland will add depth to our plans to build on our local position, given the clear rebound of the economy and our already substantial Australian presence,” said Brigstocke.
He added that while the private equity-backed group is 80% New Zealand-owned, that market only accounts for 20% of its turnover.
“We certainly want to grow the New Zealand side,” he said. “It’s not representative at the moment in terms of our print offering. We don’t have a Ligare in New Zealand at the moment. We want to have onshore book printing in New Zealand.”
Opus comprises three distinct industry sectors: short- to medium-run book printing, out-of-home work and government and commercial print. Its acquisition strategy has spanned all three spheres on both sides of the Tasman, most recently with its largest purchase, CanPrint, in February 2009. Others have included book printer Ligare and outdoor specialists Omnigraphics and Cactus in 2007.
Ligare recently added a second Océ VarioPrint 6250 to its printing battery.
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