According to the company’s parent, Ingram Content Group, it chose the Melbourne suburb of Scoresby for the facility due to its “proximity to a large concentration of major publishers and book distributors”.
The operation will be headed up by director of operations Paul Glasgow, who previously worked for Print Media Group and Direct Mail & Marketing.
Glasgow told ProPrint: “We see great opportunities in Australia, for publishers, retailers, libraries, and readers. Ingram’s mission is helping content reach its destination, and I’m excited to be a part of the team making this happen.”
Lightning Source’s international model centres around channel partnerships with booksellers and publishers, including online retail giants Amazon and Book Depository. It is unclear what alliances it has struck up in this market.
The printer hosts digital content on-site, allowing for fast turnaround of on-demand titles via its a fleet of digital presses. In the US and UK, its run Océ VarioStreams for text pages and HP Indigos for cover work, though it did not reveal its Australian hardware plans.
Glasgow said: “I’m spending a great deal of time in the USA as we prepare for the opening of our facility in Melbourne, scheduled to be up and running in June of this year. We are currently hiring additional associates and preparing for the installation of equipment in the near term.”
Ingram’s president and chief executive, David ‘Skip’ Prichard, said: “At Ingram, we are pleased to expand our leading print and distribution network to the Asia-Pacific market, helping more content reach more destinations around the world.”
ProPrint first revealed Lighting Source’s plans for Australia in September 2010.
The company has sites in La Vergne in Tennessee, Allentown in Pennsylvania, Milton Keynes in the UK (pictured) and Maurepas, France, a joint venture with Hachette Book Group.
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