Lamson Paragon has taken over Gippsland Trade Printers, with the acquisition worth an undisclosed sum.  

 Lamson Paragon is part of The Lamson Paragon Group of Companies, which also comprises of Paper Rolls Australia, Cheque-Mates, Docuspace, Fairplay Print and Integrated Office Solutions.

Gippsland Trade Printers has two main parts to its business servicing trade and retail. The Lamson Paragon Group of Companies CEO Rodney Frost told Sprinter that only the trade part of the business will be acquired.

“We can’t get involved in the retail part because we’re a trade only provider. So, I understand that the company is looking to sell that part of the business at the moment,” he said.

“For the retail side of the business, the staffing will be as is. As for the trade side of the business, some of them intend to retire, while others will either join the retail side of the business or have found other work.

“Despite offering, sadly, none of the Gippsland team will be joining our group in Sydney because of location restraints.”

Gippsland Trade Printers is a commercial printer based at Churchill in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, with Peter Ceeney and Troy Judkins leading at the helm up to the purchase.

Following the acquisition, the company representing the brand will be Lamson Paragon but Frost confirmed that the brand will be kept intact.

“The brand is very strong and it’s well known. Things like emails and all will still remain but the legal entity will be under Lamson Paragon,” Frost mentioned.

Frost said the deal came about as Ceeney and Judkins decided to move out of the printing business.

“Peter and Troy have been running the business for about 15 years. We’ve known them and the Judkins family for over 20 years. They decided that they want to move out of print and wanted to pass on the brand to a custodian who could move it forward,” he said.

“So, we came to an agreement to acquire its trade business; it was a win-win for all of us. The team at Gippsland Trade Printers can hold their heads up high; they ran the business very well for the whole time with no one having a bad word to say about them. In our industry, that’s not easy to do.

According to Frost, Lamson Paragon has traditionally been suited to larger run work while Gippsland Trade Printers traditionally had a bigger play in lower and medium end of the market.

“We have also now invested in some digital technology to cater to that lower end as well. So now we have the full gamut of product volume that we’re able to handle and we believe that our recent investment will be able to help the partners that we’ll be dealing with,” he said.

“We’re keeping details under wraps for now, but will reveal it in the coming months.”

Frost added that no customers will be impacted in this deal.

“Everyone that we have heard from is very sad that the guys are moving on, but understanding due to the nature of the industry. Like our group, Troy and Peter have built great relationships over the years and we are seeing how evident this is. We applaud them and their team for the years of dedication. As far as capability and capacity goes, it won’t impact any of the Gippsland customers in any way,” he said.

“If anything, what it will do is now give them access to far more products and services – in mailing and fulfilment, high-end digital colour printing, web to print integrations, etc. – so there’s a whole lot more for them to sink their teeth into outside what was offered previously.”

In a statement to partners, Ceeney and Judkins thanked them for their support and addressed the proceedings following the acquisition.

“Troy and I sincerely wish to thank you for your support over the past 15 years, and prior, from before we owned the business,” the statement read.

“Unfortunately, the demand for traditional business forms has declined dramatically with the advent of the internet and online/mobile platforms. It has become increasingly difficult to continue and in the interests of our staff, suppliers, customers and shareholders we sought out a deal with Lamsons whereby all of these interests were looked after.

“The Lamson Group brings to the market a much more diverse range of products that hopefully will benefit you.”

Frost said moving forward, the company will be meeting with all partners to go through the combined group offering and working out how it can help them grow, save money, do things differently, and benefit their businesses.

“We want to meet the partners and understand their businesses. We’re very much partner focused and need to understand their businesses, and how to enhance their bottom line,” he added.

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