Updated: Blue Star offloads surplus presses after Geon and Opus deals

The print giant earned “north of $250,000” with an auction on Grays Online yesterday to shift some surplus equipment, said Mike Shannon.

“It’s no secret we closed the Canberra facility. While we did the deal with Opus, there was some equipment leftover in that transaction. Some of that equipment has been sold between now and the auction and this was the balance.”

He added that the closure of production at Huntingwood-based CaxtonWeb and the integration of Geon assets had also prompted the auction.

[Related: SOS buys ex-Geon Indigo pair]

The four biggest ticket items – a pair of two-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52s, a 2002 model four-colour SM 52 and a Heidelberg Stitchmaster ST 300 – fetched more than $200,000 combined.

Shannon would not provide an exact gross but said: “We are quietly pleased with the outcome. It exceeded our expectations both in terms of clearing the decks physically and what we got paid.”

Blue Star sold its Canberra operations to Opus in April.

Update: Blue Star executive chairman Geoff Selig has added that yesterday’s auction followed a significant spending spree.

“We have installed digital, finishing and plastic wrap lines over the last three months. We have invested the best part of $10-15 million in capital expenditure and reconfiguration of facilities.

“We have put in an enormous amount of digital gear, including two new HP Indigos into Print NSW,” added Selig.

He added that Blue Star’s capex program had also included Geon’s “flagship presses”, a pair of Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105s that went into Blue Star’s Sydney and Melbourne sites.

[Related: Secondhand market remains tight]

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