Above: Starleaton CEO Ben Eaton
Acting president of Visual Connections Australia, the suppliers’ association for the print, graphics, and signage industries, Mitch Mulligan, has released a statement following the news that hardware and consumables supplier, Starleaton, has entered voluntary administration.
“The Visual Connections Board, like the rest of the industry, was dismayed to hear the announcement on Friday that Starleaton had entered voluntary administration,” Mulligan stated.
“Although we had no prior knowledge of the situation, our colleague Ben Eaton, CEO of Starleaton, had resigned from the Board this year to focus on business challenges. The Board will meet in February for a strategic planning session and will reassign roles at that time.
“Starleaton has been a strong and dynamic force in the Australian print and sign supply industry, with a product range and expertise spanning everything from wide-format print and signage, to display and graphics products. They have always been a strong supporter of Visual Connections, and a loyal exhibitor in the PacPrint, PrintEx and Visual Impact exhibitions.
“More than that, Ben Eaton has made an enormous and positive contribution to the Visual Connections Board over many years, alongside his involvement with many other industry initiatives. We thank him most sincerely for his ongoing commitment to the industry and his willingness to give back to our sector in such a generous way.
“The challenges for businesses over the past few years cannot be overstated, and we are still seeing the flow-on impacts from that today. Visual Connections will always stand with its members and assist in any way possible to ensure that our industry remains strong, vibrant and well-served by innovative and committed suppliers.
“We send our best wishes to the Eaton family and to all Starleaton staff, and stand ready to support them in any way possible as they navigate this challenging chapter,” Mulligan concluded.
Starleaton locally represented companies including Canon, Zund, Epson, and Neschen.
Sprinter understands Starleaton staff were asked to go home on Friday, 19 January, as administrators arrived to assume control of the business.
Starleaton was established in 1978 and describes itself as one of the industry’s leading suppliers of technology and consumables to the graphic imaging market including outdoor and indoor signage, display, point of purchase, window and floor-mounted graphics.
Since its 2016 acquisition of DES, the company’s reach has extended into packaging, commercial printing, photographic, fine art, CAD/GIS, high-end colour management, and soft proofing.
Sprinter has contacted Starleaton and is awaiting further comment.
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