McKellar Renown joins forces with Bambra

Bambra Press buys long time competitor McKellar Renown, effective May 1, to increase its market share and grow its customer base. Speaking with Australian Printer, John Wanless, managing director and owner of Bambra Press, says the acquisition of McKellar Renown is part of its growth strategy, which will see its customer base grow and ensure it ‘remains the market leader in quirky printing’. 46 Category 24 John Wanless - Bambra Press 002Wanless says, “I don’t want to discuss how much of the market share we will be getting with this new acquisition, but it is pretty obvious that we want to grow our business and this allows us to do so. “We were not after the business, but once it became available, and since our products complement each other, it made sense to buy the competitor.” McKellar Renown general manager Chris Norgate, was not available for an interview. The family owned and run offset, digital and letterpress printer, has won multiple awards in recent times, and is now in the hands of the younger Norgate generation Chris, Adam and Kerry Norgate. The business was originally bought by their grandfather Ray Norgate in 1946. His sons Stephen and John Norgate who were running the business until the younger generation took over a couple of years ago will now bow out. Chris, Adam and Kerry will transfer over to Bambra and will run the business as a separate brand with Bambra. The reasons for McKellar Renown going up for sale are not yet known. In a joint statement, the two companies say their shared ‘dedication to the craft and quality of print in this era of digital transformation’ was the main reason for their union. Wanless says the Bambra and McKellar brands will not lose their individuality once the acquisition process is complete. He says customers for both businesses can ‘rest assured that there will be no interruptions in the way the businesses are conducted’. McKellar will be moving at Bambra’s Port Melbourne facility, where each will continue to operate as a ‘distinct business brand’. “The businesses will simply merge their production equipment and skills, in order to serve their existing customer bases better than ever,” Wanless says. He says Bambra has offered all of the McKellar employees a job and is yet to hear from the staff whether they will make the move with the purchase. Wanless says, “Some of the staff want to move on, and we have made job offers to 24 of the McKellar employees, who are yet to confirm whether they will take the offers. If they do take the offer, then the number of Bambra’s employees will increase to 70.” Bambra says the company now has the opportunity to work alongside their ‘long time competitor, learning and sharing ideas’. Bambra was the major winner at the recent National Print Awards, winning the gold medal for the category of ‘Case Bound Books’ and also the Judges Choice Award for best of all categories.

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