It follows an earlier claim by a spokesperson for the receivers, and reported by ProPrint, that the majority of machinery had been sold to Australian companies.

ProPrint previously reported a statement from the McGrath Nicol spokesperson, saying that "most of the machinery has been sold".

The spokesperson would not elaborate on where it had gone, but said most of it had been bought by Australian companies.

ProPrint has obtained the machinery list for the failed group's east coast plants, which includes nine Heidelberg Speedmasters – seven of them long perfectors – as well as one older Manroland press and a five-unit Komori.

[Exclusive: A Geon insider speaks]

A former senior manager from a machinery supplier estimated that the offset presses could produce 220-240 million sheets annually, based on an average of 2.5 shifts per day.

The equipment list makes for interesting reading, showing just how much firepower Geon had on the eastern seaboard – giving it formidable capacity when orders were plentiful but a lot of costly assets as work dried up.

For instance, it operated at least six platesetters and more than 15 proofers.

Update: Auctioneer Dominion Group contacted ProPrint to explain that it would be jointly selling the machinery with Great American Group via auctions in Melbourne on 23 May, Sydney on 28 May and Brisbane on 30 May. Click here for details.

Asked to comment on this, the McGrath Nicol spokesperson said: "My understanding is that some of the machinery was sold as part of the sales process, some has been auctioned already and some is due to be auctioned. I think we are splitting hairs here and there will not be any further comments from McGrath Nicol on this project."

[Related: Ups and downs of Geon]

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter