Brett Addison joins Durst Oceania

The former local head of EFI, Brett Addison, has joined Durst Oceania as sales manager effective immediately.

Prior to Christmas, Sprinter confirmed Addison’s departure from EFI after five years, ahead of a new role to be announced in early 2025.

Addison has since confirmed his appointment and explained his reasons for joining Durst.

“I have always wanted to work for the best and that is why I have decided to join Durst. I believe Durst is not only the best at this point in time, but they are going to best in the market until I retire, which is probably 20 years from now. I don’t think there is anyone that is going to top Durst for a very long time,” he said.

“When it comes to high end technology and innovation, you cannot argue with the investment Durst has made into its equipment and also its commitment to future products.

“For me, I am excited about the ability to directly access people within the business that design, develop, and manufacture the machines that are going to be purchased by my local customers. By having these direct conversations with the product development team, I will be able to understand the technology thoroughly and the tolerances of the machines which is invaluable. Durst is a family-owned business and not owned by private equity – and from Australia we have direct access to the owner who has the ability to make decisions.

“Durst has its own in-house ink laboratories as well as the ability to create its own components, which means there is only a very small amount of their manufacturing supply chain that is outsourced – and there is no one else like this currently in the market.

“What has also been crucial for me in making this decision is that Durst is the only company able to entirely manage their customer satisfaction process. Durst is the only one that controls customer satisfaction completely in-house from manufacturing, delivery, warehousing, sales, service and implementation.

“Durst has a greater control over their costs because there is no third party. In a world where things are so volatile, customers need to be able to partner with a manufacturer they can trust. There is a Durst customer in Australia that needed a small modification to their machine to make it slightly wider for their printing needs – and it wasn’t a problem. No other business can offer the ability to control innovation. Companies that do not own their end-to-end processes, don’t have any control over their costs and the customer experience.”

Durst Oceania managing director Matt Ashman said Addison is the perfect fit for the local team based on his previous experience as well as his personal attitude to sales and the industry.

“I’m so pleased to have Brett on board. I have been watching his work for some years, not only as a competitor but professionally as great sales guy and advocate for the industry. His passion and motivation for customers needs aligns with the Durst philosophy. I think Brett will enjoy great success as the latest Durst’ler down under,” Ashman said.

Reflecting on his career to date, Addison believes his decision to join Durst at this point in his career represents the next stage in his evolution as an executive in the local print industry.

“In 2012 I joined Viatek – a regional provider of industrial Fuji Xerox equipment and I was in charge of half of the Victorian market. After initial success, New South Wales was added to my territory as well and Fuji Xerox also awarded me as salesperson of the year. I then went to work for Fuji Xerox direct, reporting into Craig Walmsley and one of the biggest deals I closed at the time was selling iGens into ABC Photosigns. I then met my wife and moved to Adelaide where I worked for Ricoh reporting into Mark Morrow. During a PacPrint that year I came second at the show for sales of Ricoh industrial cut sheet machines – even though South Australia was a relatively small market,” Addison said.

“I then came back to Victoria and worked for Andy Cocker at Océ. I enjoyed my time working with Andy but Océ was a small business and so I moved to EFI when I was given the opportunity as at the time it was the top end of the market. Over the last five years I have been in charge of Australia and New Zealand as well as managing the distributor Currie Group and I have won some big accounts over that time.

“Since Durst Oceania was formed by Matt Ashman and the team five years ago, the business has exploded. Matt and I have always had a healthy respect for each other as competitors – as there is always enough for everyone to eat. After talking to Matt on and off for the last three years the opportunity presented itself, and I jumped at it.

“When you make a decision to switch companies – you are making a career choice. When I weighed up the options, I realised there is only one company that has complete control of their destiny and for me this is not a job – it is about my future. Job security and certainty over what the next 20 years of my professional life is important to me and my wife and five children aged from 12 to 15 years.

“For my future Durst customers, this means there is a strong likelihood that I will be there for the entire lifetime of that product journey, with one person to sell it and look after their entire service and satisfaction journey and that is exciting for me.”

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