Cactus Imaging co-founder and general manager – operations, Keith Ferrel, has taken out the top gong at the 2022 ProPrint Awards in the Printer 50 category, formerly known as the Power 50, which was held last night at the Shangri-la Hotel in Sydney with over 300 guests in attendance.

Keith is recognised as someone who truly loves and greatly enjoys the printing industry and all that comes with it. Three decades ago, Keith and his then New Zealand newspaper industry colleague, Warwick Spicer, threw all caution to the wind and decided to move to Sydney and start Cactus Imaging.

The pair could see a big future in digital billboard printing and they were spot on. Today, and after many twists and turns including forays into India, a private equity takeover and the eventual purchase by ASX-listed giant oOh!media, Cactus Imaging is going strong with Ferrel still very much involved as general manager – operations, working side by side Cactus Imaging general manager, Nigel Spicer.

He is certainly not showing any signs of slowing down with a litany of overseas trips to various trade shows and events on his calendar, most recently Printing United in Las Vegas. He currently sits on HP’s Asia Pacific Japan Dscoop board as well as the Fespa Australia board. He has also been a member of the HP Customer Advisory Board and the Dscoop Global Board.

Keith is also known for his generosity – not only in his time for others but also as an active supporter and sponsor of Women in Print and the ProPrint Emerging 50 Awards. Further to this, Keith is also often invited to speak at conferences around the world and is well respected as an innovator. Keith is extremely knowledgeable and is often invited to advise manufacturers on new equipment prior to release to the market.

The Printer 50 is a peer-voted and judged award which forms part of the annual ProPrint Awards. All Printer 50 judging is audited by Auditing Partner, PKF. The Top 20 in the Printer 50 list is as judged by the industry, with the remaining nominees listed in alphabetical order. Congratulations to all for your ongoing hard work and deserved recognition.

Congratulations to Printer 50 Top 20 winners:

1. Keith Ferrel, co-founder & general manager – operations, Cactus Imaging
2. Debbie Burgess & John Bright, co-directors, Bright Print Group
3. Matt Aitken, CEO, IVE Group
4. Mitchell Mulligan, recent past president & board member, Visual Connections, & life member, Lithographic Institute of Australia
5. Kirsten Taylor, creative director, Taylor’d Press
6. Rodney Frost, CEO, Lamson Group
7. Mel Ireland, federal president, Lithographic Institute of Australia & member services representative, Ai Group
8. Peter Harper, CEO, Visual Connections
9. Steven Gamble, founder, Man Anchor
10. Tom Eckersley, managing director, Eckersley Print Group & board member, Print & Visual Communication Association
11. Jenny Berry, member services representative, Ai Group & board member Lithographic Institute of Australia (Victoria)
12. Robyn Frampton, marketing & communications manager, Visual Connections, & board member Lithographic Institute of Australia (Victoria)
13. Geoff Selig, executive chairman, IVE Group
14. Kellie Northwood, chief executive officer, Print & Visual Communication Association
15. Nigel Spicer, general manager, Cactus Imaging
16. Simon Carmody, managing director, Spot Productions
17. Gordon Wilson, president, Lithographic Institute of Australia (SA), & national vice president of Lithographic Institute of Australia
18. Leon Wilson, managing director, Revolution Print
19. Dayne Nankervis, chief executive officer, CMYKhub
20. Adam Parnell & Andy Fryer, co-directors, Easy Signs

Printer 50 alphabetical order winners:

• Aaron Lusch, managing director, Playtpus Print Packaging
• Aleks Lajovic, managing director, Impact International
• Andrew Reynolds, group training officer ANZ, Multi-Color Corporation, & member of Lithographic Institute of Australia
• Ben Carroll, managing director, Velflex and UltraColour & Mandy Olivier, general manager, Velflex and UltraColour
• Charles Watson, general manager – IR, policy & governance, Print & Visual Communication Association/The Real Media Collective
• Cliff Brigstocke, CEO – production and distribution, IVE Group
• Clinton Daley, general manager, NEO
• Cory Hall, director, Precision Group
• Damian Nielsen, general manager, CV Media and Signage
• Daniel Edwards, founder, Posterboy Printing
• Daniel Scotton, owner/manager, Kwik Kopy Newcastle
• Darren Delaney, general manager, AllKotes
• Elli Zlatanovski, account manager, Charters Paper
• Emmanuel Buhagiar, owner, Imagination Graphics
• Ewen Donaldson, managing director, Vivad
• Fiona Johns, owner, Minuteman Press Springvale
• Frank Mezo, director, Mezographic
• Glenn Coleman & Rod Peter, co-directors, Coleman Group
• Jason Turai, packaging engineer, Visy, & member Lithographic Institute of Australia (SA)
• Jason Smith, managing director, Clark & Mackay
• Jeff Barr, general manager, AFI Branding
• Kenneth Beck-Pederson & Peter Musarras, co-directors, Carbon8
• Kirsty & Luke Woodhead, co-directors, Breen Printing
• Nina Nguyen, founder, Pakko
• Paul Freeman, executive chairman, E-Bisglobal
• Samantha Bailey-Jensen, director, Bailey Print Group
• Simon Pugh, group CEO, QLM Label Makers
• Sonia Shwabsky, chief executive officer, Kwik Kopy Australia
• Stephen Lamont, managing director, Lamont Sustainable Sign Solutions
• Tate Hone, director, Avon Graphics

Huge thank you to the ProPrint Awards’ amazing sponsors & supporters:

Platinum Sponsor: Durst Oceania

Gold Sponsors: DIC, HP, OKI and Orafol with Media Super the Foundation Partner of the Emerging 50.

Silver Sponsors: Ball & Doggett, Böttcher Systems, Bright Print Group, Cactus Imaging, Centrum Group, Graph-Pak, Kurz , Lamson Paragon, Pakko, Ricoh and Visual Connections.

printIQ is the sponsor of the ProPrint Awards Editor’s Choice award.

Ball & Doggett is the sponsor of the Sustainability Prize.

The Print & Visual Communication Association is the Mentorship Partner for the Emerging 50.

PKF is the Auditing Partner for the Printer 50.

For more information: www.proprintawards.com.au.

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