At PacPrint in Melbourne, the company’s logo joined the raft of others looked after by the wholly-owned local subsidiary of Swiss mailroom systems developer Ferag.
The appointment follows the collapse earlier this year of Plunkett & Johnson, the Sydney headquartered company which had represented QuadTech in some ANZ market segments for more than a decade, sharing it with Ferag in others.
Ferag – which had been agent for UK-based PressTech Systems when it was acquired by QuadTech (then QTI) in 2002 – had since held the gravure-focussed Italian Grafikontrol agency, but without making significant inroads into the Australian market.
QuadTech, which is owned by US commercial printing giant Quad/Graphic, develops a range of systems for press register and colour control used by newspaper and commercial web printers, and increasingly packaging printers. It is this segment that QuadTech regional sales manager David Mitchell sees as important to future growth in Australia and New Zealand as newspapers enter a consolidation phase.
“There is still a market for our technology in newspaper and commercial web markets, but packaging is the biggest opportunity and the area in which we are increasingly diversifying to,” he says.
Mitchell says there is also scope for upgrades among an installed base which includes “quite a lot” of older equipment.
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Ferag’s general manager, trade, Ian Martin says the company has created strong relationships over the years, with all levels of the marketplace: “These range from small family owned businesses to national and multi-national operations such as News Limited, Fairfax, PMP and IPMG, to name just a few.
“With QuadTech’s proven record of innovative technology, their push into packaging, and obvious synergies with our customer base, we are very excited about future business opportunities.”
QuadTech president Karl Fritchen says Ferag Australia’s commitment to service and provision of state-of-the-art technology “makes them an excellent match for us.
“We’re certain that Ferag Australia’s knowledgeable and dedicated staff will ensure fast response to our customers, whether for sales, service, or spare parts.”
QuadTech was founded by Thomas Quadracci, along with Jeff Sainio and Jerry Kirby, in 1979 and produced its first RGS II register system the following year initially for application within the family-owned print group.
An Asia-Pacific office opened in Singapore in 1993 and one in Shanghai in 2007.
Recent developments have included the Icon platform and MultiCam camera in 2004, and the SpectralCam-based inspection system five years later.
Pictured: David Mitchell (left) with Ferag Australia general manager Ian Martin (right) and postpress senior executive David Kane who will look after the QuadTech business