Firefighters have extinguished a large blaze which ripped through the factory of former Adelaide book finishing and embellishing business Protectaprint just a month after they finished moving out.

The fire broke out at the factory on Wodonga Street, Beverley at 9:30pm last night with witnesses reporting they saw several large explosions and the roof of the building collapse.

A large crowd gathered on the street to watch the blaze and police patrols were forced to push the public and cars back after explosions were heard inside the building. There were no injuries reported.  

It took 36 firefighters 45 minutes to contain the blaze and a further 60 minutes to fully extinguish it.

The factory was formerly occupied by Protectaprint, owned by Richard and Steve Wilkinson, before it was sold off to McPherson’s Printing, a division of Opus, late last year.  

Richard Wilkinson has told Australian Printer none of Protectaprint’s equipment was in the building at the time of the fire and he has no current insurance policies on the building as it is owned by another party.

PMP’s Griffin Press was also in contention to purchase the assets, with Protectaprint providing 100 per cent of the company’s book finishing and embellishing work.

The sale saw all of Protectaprint’s laminating, foiling and screen-printing assets transferred from Adelaide to Maryborough, Victoria, but this did not happen immediately as Opus agreed to not move the equipment while Griffin Press was still using it to complete orders.

In 2007 Protectaprint made the largest ever Australian investment in laminating equipment with its purchase of two Italian-made machines for $1.3m. 

A neighbouring business owner to the factory told Australian Printer he believes Protectaprint finally moved out of the premises a month ago, however adding, “I heard about 10 to 12 explosions so there must have been something still inside.”  

Australian Printer has contacted Opus CEO Richard Celarc who says he does not wish to provide comment.

South Australia Police say the cause of the fire is still unknown and due to asbestos being present in the building, they must wait for the Environmental Protection Authority to give the all clear before they can investigate.  

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