Labor’s printing of Election Day signage hit a wall after Manly printer Roller Poster Company switched off its presses and collapsed into liquidation only a month after striking a $100,000 signage deal.
Roller Poster was contracted by the Australian Labor Party last month to print plastic banners ahead of the July 2 election. Roller Poster’s assets are now being handled by consultant agency Jirsch Sutherland, who confirmed the Brookvale-based printer was placed into its hands on Friday.
Amanda Young of Jirsch Sutherland told ProPrint the signage was almost complete when the business went into liquidation at 3pm Friday.
The job however hit a speed bump after the Roller Poster’s landlord switched off the electricity on Saturday due to unpaid rent. The liquidators then negotiated to continue the printing, which Young says was almost finalised over the weekend.
According to Young, Roller Poster owner Tim Wilson had been ‘unwell’ and has not been living in Sydney. The company had been trading under an interim manager for some time while Wilson attempted to sell the business with little success.
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Following the completion of the Labor signage contract, Young says an attempt to sell the business will be made again.
“We are now touching base with some interested parties, but at this stage our main focus is paying employee entitlements,” says Young.
“The printing is now almost finished, it is now just a matter of rolling it. There was a bit of a delay but it is a positive outcome.”
Roller Poster has been in operation since 1994 and has previously produced signage for the Labor Party and for the retail market.
It is also understood Roller Poster had been in financial strife. The printer was listed on the ASIC website with a notice of application for winding up in June 2013.
All calls directed to Roller Poster’s Brookvale site are unanswered. It is uncertain why the company has fallen into liquidation, and the fate of its eight staff members remains unknown.
More to come.
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