Ovato says the efficiencies generated by Australia Post lodgement facilities onsite are among the key reasons it won a three-year contract to print six additional Bauer Media magazine titles.
The new deal to print magazines including OK!, The Block and Australian Women’s Weekly Food magazines means Ovato is now responsible for producing all 34 Bauer Media titles at its supersite in Warwick Farm, NSW.
Other magazines in the stable include Woman’s Day, The Australian Women’s Weekly, TV Week, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Australian House and Garden and Take 5.
The deal also means Ovato has picked up the majority of Bauer’s subscription mailing business, delivering more than 300,000 magazines to subscribers each month.
Adrian O'Connor, chief executive officer, Print & Residential Distribution, said having the Australia Post lodgement facility at Warwick Farm is definitely an advantage.
“The Australia Post lodgement facility at Warwick Farm is a big advantage for our customers – it removes unnecessary movement of product between printer and mailing house along with the associated costs of freight and packaging. It also opens up lodgement deadlines and ensures speed to market for our customers,” O’Connor told ProPrint.
“For customers using Australia Post lodgement we believe it can save 24 hours in the distribution cycle. This can be massively important, particularly for magazine publishers to ensure subscribers receive copies on time.”
Ovato chief executive officer Kevin Slaven said the on-site partnership with Australia Post and having Ovato’s retail distribution arm close by means the company can deliver subscriptions to seven million households nationally and 8,000 retail outlets at speed.
“Our relationship with Bauer Media goes back over 30 years and we are delighted they have decided to extend our work together. As the only Australian printer to have co-located print and mailing facilities with Australia Post onsite, it’s great to see Bauer recognise the efficiencies we can provide through our integrated print and distribution model,” Slaven said.
“Over the last few years we have invested significantly to complete our world-class ‘supersite’ at Warwick Farm, and, through our on-site partnership with Australia Post and the capabilities of our retail distribution arm, we are able to deliver subscriptions to over 7 million households nationally and 8,000 retail outlets at speed. We know time-saved is incredibly important for our clients, and we will continue to invest in the tools, technologies and talent to improve efficiency and integration for our customers.”
http://www.proprint.com.au/News/392866,ovato-revenue-down-as-rebrand-gains-momentum.aspx
Bauer Media chief executive officer Brendon Hill said the relationship forged between the two companies goes far behond printing.
“We continue to be impressed by Ovato’s commitment to service excellence and innovation in an ever-changing environment. Over the years, we’ve forged an incredibly strong partnership with the Ovato team which goes beyond our day-to-day printing requirements. As part of this, we are currently working on several strategic projects that will reduce the operating costs for both our companies. This is testament to the hard work and solutions-focused attitude of the Ovato team,” Hill said.
Ovato, formerly known as PMP, is now in the process of closing down its Moorebank operation in western Sydney which involves decommissioning six of its older presses and installing a new 80pp Manroland Lithoman at the consolidated Warwick Farm site due by the end of this year.
The news also comes weeks after Michael Hannan, along with the Lindsay Hannan Family Trust bought $10m worth of Ovato shares, following the settlement of an Entitlement Offer to existing shareholders which was underwritten by the family.
At the time Ovato said it will use the funds to strengthen its balance sheet, and accelerate its NSW site consolidation project.
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